Tag: Kim Wilde

Saturday Flashback: DJ Bobo feat. Kim Wilde – I Believe

“It’s not like Jedward are involved, but still…”

Tim: Last Saturday we had DJ Bobo, on Tuesday we had Kim Wilde, so what could go wrong with combining the two?

Tom: So many things, Tim! I mean, “demon core of music” is probably a bit strong, it’s not like Jedward are involved, but still…

Tim: Hmm, that’s very fair. Let’s start with just him.

Tom: His studio vocals are better than his live vocals, that’s for sure.

Tim: There’s that, yes, but let’s be honest, there aren’t many other positives, particular when he uses a line straight from the Savage Garden atrocity that is Affirmation.

Tom: Agh, I’m glad it’s not just me that despises that song. To be fair, this is a competent 90s chillout-dance track, slightly hampered by the fact that it was released in 2003.

Tim: Mr Bobo does at least show a bit of enthusiasm this time when he’s dancing, although his gazing glumly out of the window kind of sets that back to zero. The message manages to be upbeat and downbeat at the same time – yes, great things exist, but you’re making them shit – which is pretty terrible. The music is, well, danceable I suppose, it does have a good beat, and even though it’s getting on for four minutes long it doesn’t outstay its welcome. But overall: not really.

Tom: So where does Kim Wilde come in?

Tim: This is from 2013, and God only knows how it happened, but it did, so here it is.

Tim: It’s a bit more listenable, with a fair amount of retooling going on, but really. Kim, you’re better than this.

Kim Wilde – Pop Don’t Stop

“If that’s not a message for our times then it damn well should be.”

Tim: YES, it’s Kim from way back when, with her first release since 2013’s Christmas album, and oh, has it been worth waiting for.

Tom: There’s a saying I use: “don’t shoot for the moon and miss”. If your green-screen isn’t quite up to full-on pop video standards, perhaps you’d better just film somewhere else without it. I had to watch this in a background tab, because some inverted version of the halo effect meant that I thought the song was worse just because the video was a bit naff.

Tim: Yes, alright, but let’s not focus on the negatives, when there are SO MANY positives to discuss. Some artists feel the need to update their style in accordance with the progression of musical vogue; I’d argue that there are at least two situations where you don’t. One: when you’re Kim Wilde, and two: when your chorus goes “POP POP MUSIC GIVE ME POP POP MUSIC DON’T STOP GIVE ME POP GIVE ME POP POP MUSIC”.

Tom: How convenient and oddly specific. (I know what you mean, though, and you’re right.)

Tim: Pop music brings people together, and keeps them together, and if that’s not a message for our times then it damn well should be. This song is just pure energy – I listened to this about ten minutes after waking up last Friday, and jumped straight out of bed; there’s not a lot that’ll get me doing that.

Tom: Either that or a desperate urge to pee, sure.

Tim: Everything about it is just wonderful: the music, the bright colours in the video, and her bringing her brother Ricky along for the ride, because why not?

We’re only a month and a bit in to 2018 and we’ve already heard a lot of good tracks; nevertheless, I’m fairly sure that come December, this’ll still be in my top 10 of the year. (Also a safe bet: one from the Lithuanian Eurovision selection process that our reader described as “vomit-inducing”; we’ll get to that one in due course.)

Kim Wilde & Nik Kershaw – Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

“What does this add to the world?”

Tom: Despite the public only knowing one of her songs, Kim Wilde has had a pretty long career in music. Although apparently she’s a bit hard up at the moment, hence doing a load of adverts and putting out a Christmas album.

Tom: At this point, I’m just tempted to have a sign ready that just says “UNNECESSARY COVER”. What does this add to the world? A really cheesy outro line? An unnecessary video based on irritating people in a quiet carriage? A keytar? (Okay, so the keytar’s pretty good.)

Tim: Yeah, unnecessary’s probably a good word, especially since it’s hard to distinguish much between this and the one she did twenty-odd years ago.

Tom: Yes – the Mel Smith dedication at the end is based on the first time that Kim put this single out. It was for Comic Relief, and it’s terrible even by the standards of the era. Even without the Rolf Harris reference.

Tim: Though the video, it’s worth noting, is most likely inspired by her slightly inebriated antics of last December, so it’s nice to know she can at least laugh at herself slightly.