Thursday, July 29, 2004  

"Wearing padded bras / Sucking beers through straws"
 
Neneh Cherry, "Buffalo Stance" (12-Inch Mix)
from Buffalo Stance 12-inch (Virgin, 1989)
and Raw Like Sushi (Virgin, 1989)
Neneh Cherry, "I've Got You Under My Skin"
from Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter (Capitol, 1990)
Neneh Cherry featuring the Notorious B.I.G., "Buddy X" (Falcon & Fabian Remix)
from Buddy X (Remix) CD-5 (Virgin, 1992)

My short-term memory is beginning to suck, and my long-term memory has always been shaky (except for the bad stuff, always remember the bad stuff). So I'm not sure where I was this week when I heard "Buffalo Stance" for the first time in, like, 4ever, but I do remember the elation I felt.  Neneh's fly '80s rap, that New Order-y bass line in the chorus, her tuff gal lyrics---I fell in love all over again. It could kick off a whole nuther hip-house frenzy 'round here.

"Buffalo Stance" reminds me of going to Ann Arbor's Nectarine Ballroom (now called the Necto) at 516 East Liberty St. It reminds me of fanzine making and record shopping with Tim. We would shop almost weekly at Record Time in Roseville, where the DJs would always seem to be spinning "The Percolator" for hours on end and where you'd spy important Detroit techno folks like WDET DJ Alan Oldham just hanging out. *sniff* Let me wipe away a tear with this Glo-Stick....

The "Buddy X" remix is notable for an early appearance of Notorious B.I.G., but the original song is from 1992's Homebrew, Neneh's mostly lukewarm follow-up to 1989's smashing Raw Like Sushi.

Cherry's take on Cole Porter's "I Got You Under My Skin," for the Red Hot AIDS charity, consciously plays off the song's double modern meaning, and it has the same chilling message that ended up being associated with Soft Cell's otherwise innocent cover of "Tainted Love." (Coil made the AIDS connection eerily clear when it redid "Tainted Love" in 1985).

Neneh Cherry's recent interview with the Independent. She swears she's working on a new album. And she's a grandmother.
More MP3s at this fan site.
Marietto's fan site kicks it.
Outre Risque's fan site tempts you with the word "Risque."

One last thing on Neneh before I head off to my office's daily dance party: With all the '80s funk-punk revival going on, when is Virgin gonna step up and reissue Rip, Rig & Panic's catalog?

Posted by CP | Link |

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