TWO FER TUESDAY: Late 90s dance: Fun Factory and Crush

     HowYOUdoin, friends? Today, the Dial brings you a "Two Fer Tuesday" post, but instead of checking out two tunes by the same act, we are instead reviewing a pair of songs that belong to the same overall genre and era of music. As an added bonus, it’s a musical style we don’t often cover. So, without further ado, it’s time to dip our toes in the collective pool of ‘90s Eurodance, with Fun Factory’s "I Wanna B With U", and Crush’s "Jellyhead"!

Fun Factory, a Hamburg, Germany based dance pop group, can easily draw comparison to Swedish pop stars Ace of Base. Both acts feature a blend of female vocalists and male rappers, and the output of both groups is excessively pop radio-friendly. Fun Factory comprises of French vocalist Marie-Anett Mey, American rapper Rodney "Rod D." Hardison, and native Germans and record producers Toni "Smooth T." Cottura, and Stephan "Steve" Browarczyk.

Extracted from the group’s 1995 "Fun-Tastic" album, "I Wanna…" opens with a simple melody played using bells (or perhaps samples of bells), which lends the tune a light-hearted nursery rhyme feel. Once Mey sings the chorus for the first time, the song’s vibe then morphs into that of pop-reggae, and leads into a back and forth between a young couple who are declaring their romantic intent with one another. Overall, "I Wanna" successfully captures a very summery feel, which in turn is reinforced by the backyard barbecue setting of the music video.

Fun Factory just missed dancing into the US top 40 with "I Wanna…", as it peaked at #45 on the Hot 100, however, it ended up scoring much higher on the US Dance charts at #10. This was not the only track that they nearly placed into the top 40... two years prior in 1993, their single "Close To You", hit US #46 pop, and US #22 dance.

Also of note, is the group’s 1995 cover of Manfred Mann’s 1964 hit "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" (the title of which was altered to "Doh Wah Diddy" for the remake), which peaked at #6 in Germany on the GfK Entertainment Charts (their own version of the Billboard singles chart), but the cover tune was not released as a single here in the states.

And despite the very Prince-influenced spelling of the title, it appears that the late purple one had nothing whatsoever to do with this song. No matter, it’s still a bouncy, easy going pop tune that deserved to break through greater on the charts.

"I wanna be with you, ‘cause my love is true… there’s so many things that I wanna do… I wanna be with you every night and day… Oh baby, oh baby please stay…"



    Next, we hop a flight across the Strait of Dover from Germany to England to check out the second half of this "Two Fer", "Jellyhead" by UK based Crush.

Crush is a dance pop duo consisting of Jayni Hoy and Donna Air, and was a spin-off of an earlier girl group called Byker Grooove. That act was itself a spin-off of a British TV series, a teenage soap opera entitled "Byker Grove" which aired from 1989 to 2006 on the BBC, and featured Hoy, Air, and fellow cast member Vicky Taylor. Taylor left the trio, and Jayni and Donna continued on under the name Crush.

Byker Grove, was not aired in the states (despite being quite popular across the pond), so it’s rather interesting that Crush was promoted to American radio at all, given that the ladies in the group are relative unknowns over here. The best that "Jellyhead" could manage was a #72 pop showing, which was their only appearance on the US hot 100. Surprisingly, it didn’t set the airwaves on fire in the UK either, and reached only UK #50.

"Jellyhead" appeared twice on the ladies’ 1996 debut LP "Teenage Kicks"; a pop/alt rock version, and the "Motive8 Pumphouse Remix", (which is the one that tended to get airplay), and is also the version I’ve posted at the end of the review.

Even though the lyrics are rather simple, I originally thought that "Jellyhead" was being sung by a girl who was berating another girl for dumping her boyfriend unfairly. Although now that I’m really listening to the lyrics, it’s clear my first impression was incorrect, and the narrator is simply dumping her own guy, as he is total clod. A "Jellyhead", if you will. So I overthunk it. That’s what I do.

(Although I assume that not this much thought went into the lyrics when it was written… this is a song to get people shakin’ it on the dance floor after all…)

And what of the unusual opening line "So what if your jeans are torn… they’ve been torn since BRATS were cool"? What do these girls have against German sausages, anyway?

Turns out the actual line is "since Bros were cool", and "Bros" were a UK based pop trio who scored many hits in Europe from ‘87 – ‘91. So Crush was taking a dig at an earlier pop act, but interestingly enough, they also celebrate a contemporary one in the same song with the line…      "I want The Prodigy really loud". Could Jayni and Donna be Firestarters?

"Over and over I feel it… boyfriend, you’re alone… you must be out of your mind… Jellyhead. You’ve really blown it."



I was about to call these songs guilty pleasures, but what do I have to feel guilty about? Both Fun Factory and Crush have created playful, upbeat dance numbers here, which although they certainly aren’t the most sophisticated or meaningful pieces of music ever recorded, both tunes possess a carefree youthful vibe that just exudes fun. And in today’s stress filled word, what’s wrong with a song or two that’s pure fun? Nothing, that’s what!

Every now and again, "Mrs. Radio Dial" will pull up pop and dance music videos on our WiiU (typically songs from the ‘90s) for our kids to bounce around to as a "dance party", frequently featuring tunes like Aqua’s "Barbie Girl", the Vengaboys’ "We like to Party", Real McCoy’s "Another Night", "Steal my Sunshine" by Len, etc. Methinks I’ll have to sneak Fun Factory and Crush into the playlist the next time around. Perhaps you’ll add them to your playlist as well.

Kyle’s Radio Dial… the more you listen… the MORE you remember!

 

 

 

"She's Got Issues" by The Offspring

     How YOU doin’, friends? Thanks ever so much for tuning into the Dial! On the docket today is a late 90s punk pop jam that calls out those who drag others down with their own personal demons. Read on to determine why The Offspring says “She’s Got Issues”!

“I’m seeing this girl and she just might be out of her mind… well, she’s got baggage and it’s all the emotional kind…”

Featuring lead vocals and guitar work by Dexter Holland, along with bassist Greg K., guitarist “Noodles”, and drummer Ron Welty, “Issues” was the fourth and final single pulled from the California based punk rockers’ 1998 LP Americana. Peaking at #11 on the US alternative singles chart, and #19 on the US mainstream rock chart, the tune did not cross over to the Billboard hot 100, but it did top the UK’s Rock and Metal singles chart.

A hard rocking venting by the male narrator, “Issues” finds him voicing his frustration regarding his angst-filled, victim-playing girlfriend. Holland has explained that the tune is intended to criticize those who do not take responsibility for their own station in life, instead choosing to blame others as opposed to looking internally at their problems.

Now, the lyrics are a little on the crude side, as they mention specific problems in the bedroom, and feature an expletive at one point, but that just plays into the character’s overall exasperation at his girlfriend’s behavior… he’s been pushed to the edge himself by dealing with her.

“She talks about closure and that validation bit… I don’t mean to be insensitive, but I really hate that @!#$”

The music video is a true feast for the eyes, as it depicts everyday mundane occurrences in a young woman’s life (like cooking breakfast and riding the subway) as they distort into grotesque, over-the-top, and hilarious Robert Crumb style animated nightmares. And yes, your eyes do not deceive you, that young woman is indeed a 19 year old Zooey Deschanel! Pre-“New Girl”, pre-“Elf”, even pre-“Almost Famous”, here Zooey plays the girl who’s psychoses manifest themselves as gross cartoons constantly throughout her day, until she returns home to find Noodles and the guys jamming in her apartment.

The Offspring never scored a top 40 hit in the states, with the closest they’ve ever got being another Americana extract, “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”, which made it almost halfway up the chart at US #53 in ‘98. However, they’ve earned multiple top tens on the US Mainstream and Alternative rock charts. As a side question, how is it that a song can be a hit on both the “alternative” and “mainstream” formats? Shouldn’t it be one or the other? By definition, isn’t an alternative song supposed to BE an alternative TO the mainstream? Or at least, wasn’t it so, back in the ‘90s? I’ll never reconcile that one. Drop me a comment if you have a take on this…

“If you think I’m controlling… then why do you follow me around… if you’re not co-dependent… then why do you let others drag you down?”

After hearing this tune a few times when it was new, it struck me how similar the song is to .38 Special’s “Hold on Loosely”. Listen to it… The Offspring has basically recorded a skater punk cover of the 1981 southern rock hit, and wrote all new words to it. The guys are no strangers to this method, their “Why Don’t You Get A Job” basically apes The Beatles “Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da”, right down to the melody, cadence, and horn fills, and it even features John Lennon styled background adlibs. (Turns out I’m not the only musicologist that noticed this connection, check online for various mashups of “Issues” and “Loosely”, to see what I mean.)

So check out Dexter and the boys below as they rant against a girl who brings too much baggage to the table. And dig that crazy music video!

Also, check back in another two weeks or so as we continue to comb the musical archives to bring you songs that you forgot that you even forgot about!

"I don't know why you're messed up... I don't know why your whole life is a chore... just do me a favor, and check your baggage at the door."

 

 



"Fly High Michelle" by Enuff Z'Nuff

    What’s goin’ on friends? Thanks for tuning into Kyle’s Radio Dial, the blog that jogs your mind with songs that you forgot you knew. Tonight, we take a listen to, (and a look at), an artifact from the late ‘80s that blended power pop influence with glam metal, and despite addressing a serious subject from a lyrical standpoint, it came equipped with a bright and cheery video that stuck out in the minds of any of us that saw it on MTV or Friday Night Videos back then. Let us introduce Enuff Z’Nuff, and "Fly High Michelle"!

"Six o’clock in the morning, still sitting here pouring the drinks ‘til they’re gone…"

Hailing from the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Blue Island, Enuff Z’Nuff, a clever re-spelling of the phrase "Enough’s Enough", consists of lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Donnie Vie, lead guitarist Derek Frigo, Vikki Fox on drums, and the band’s namesake, Chip Z'Nuff, on bass and vocals. The band’s 1989 self-titled album, from which "Michelle" was pulled, contained a strong Beatles influence combined with ‘70s power pop ala Cheap Trick, The Babys, and the Raspberries.

Back when "Michelle" was a new tune, I assumed the song was about a young woman who loses her virginity to a guy that treats her horribly, largely because of the "why did you have to give it up" line that leads into the chorus. Later on, I thought the tune may have centered on a girl who got married too early and has come to regret her decision. But this was before I learned all the lyrics, and once I did, it became rather clear that Enuff Z’Nuff’s "almost hit" touches on the subject of suicide.

It seems that Michelle was originally an optimistic young woman who became severely depressed and wasn’t able to get help. She was unable to overcome her destructive and negative emotions, which led to her decision to take her own life. Donnie Vie alludes to the fact that they had a relationship of some sort, though it’s left vague as to if it was romantic or platonic. Regardless, he assumes a bulk of the guilt for not recognizing the pain she was in. Perhaps if he had, then he could have helped her and she would still be with him.

"We did everything together, would have done it forever, how did we go wrong…"

The music video’s visual style counters the somber quality of the lyrics through its use of "Day-Glo" colors via rainbows, balloons, neon cityscapes, and the band members’ bright outfits. Hey, it was the late ‘80s after all… fluorescent colors and glam metal was still all the rage. Plus, Derek gives off a David Lee Roth vibe here with his leopard print shirt and leather cap, which is always a welcome look.

The video clip also features computer animation, sophisticated for the time, though charmingly dated now, which shows a variety of effects that look to be pulled from a low budget fantasy movie. There’s an impossibly fast rising and setting of the moon, rapidly arching rainbows, clouds that can support the weight of multiple people, and the beautiful Michelle herself, rising into the sky via a magical bundle of balloons.

As visually arresting as the video is, it may seem a little too happy and childlike for the subject matter of the song. But I think that’s just the point – Michelle was a young woman who gave up her life with great potential for happiness, and she was seen by many as just a kid herself.

"I wish we still could have done things, and not overhung things… I wish you were here."

With just a little more of a push at radio, "Michelle" should have been a top 40 hit for the guys, but alas, it was not to be and the tune stalled at #47 on the pop charts. It managed better on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart at #27, though it still couldn’t be called anything close to a "smash hit". Another single from the LP, "New Thing", only reached US #67 pop, and #35 at mainstream rock, and thus marked their final hot 100 chart appearance.

However, the lack of singles chart success hasn’t slowed down the band from Blue Island, I’m happy to report. Even though Chip Z’Nuff is the only original member with the band (Frigo passed away in 2004, and Fox and Vie left the group and were replaced in 1993 and 2013, respectively), the band continues to enjoy a loyal following today, and released their thirteenth LP, "Clowns Lounge" in 2016.

On a side note, in addition to their aforementioned power pop roots, I also hear a little Elton John in the mix here as well. In specific, Donnie Vie’s "I know that what goes up…" line echoes the cadence of the line "Even when you died" from the second verse of John’s "Candle in the Wind". Maybe it’s just a coincidence, or it could be that I’m hearing something that isn’t really there, but perhaps it was an intentional reference point to Elton from the band.

So check out the clip below, and revisit this tune that deserved to be a much bigger hit than it turned out to be. Michelle would want it that way. And be sure to stay tune to the Dial for more great music that you just don’t hear on the radio anymore. Kyle’s Radio Dial… the more you listen, the MORE you remember!

"Why’d you have to give it up… fly high Michelle… Ooh, you were just a little girl… fly high Michelle… I’ll never look into your blue eyes… fly high Michelle."