Mariska Veres, lead singer of Shocking Blue, died on Saturday. From the WFMU blog:

Anyway, being a child of the 80s I first heard the cheesy Bananarama version of Venus (which came just a few years after it was also included in the massive Stars on 45). Thanks to that hit version, the original started resurfacing. Then other songs crept into my periphery: a friend put Ink Pot on a mix tape, a college radio DJ spun Love Buzz for me after I gushed about the Nirvana single, Send Me a Postcard popped up on a compilation by Ladytron. All of these songs blew me away, and before I knew it I was a full-blown Shocking Blue fan.

[link]

Link has links to a bunch of Shocking Blue videos....

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and one Robert won't even let me listen to that starts with "No one would let the cat in."

OMG. If that's the one I'm thinking of, then that's probably a good thing. At least, I do know a Christmas song that starts with a line approximately like that (off of a Canadian folky compilation Christmas album from several years ago). It then goes on to be extremely mawkish and sentimental and manipulative and yet never, ever, ever fails to reduce me to a helpless puddle of tears. I don't dare listen to it while driving because it makes me sob so hard.

I really, profoundly have no idea at all why Hec ever married me.

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Perhaps because, not so deep inside his silly and jovial exterior, he's just as much of an empath as you are?

Just a guess. (Not that I would know anything about such things.)

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Okay, I know I'm probably the last person in the entire multiverse to get on the OK Go bandwagon, which is probably the single event which will cause all previous OK Go fans to say "oh, they're so mainstream now, what sellouts, not interested anymore," but this is the awesomest thing made out of awesome in the entire history of things that are awesome (no, I don't watch MTV, why do you ask?):

Here It Goes Again video on YouTube

I could watch it a bajillionty times and never get tired of it.

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I could watch it a bajillionty times and never get tired of it.

Thanks to you, I just watched it my bajillionty and oneth time and... nope, not tired of it. And that was even after my browser got cranky with YouTube and went through the entire song once without video -- it certainly isn't Deathless Epic Rock For The Ages, but it's a damn good bouncy pop song even without the video.

Also, approximating the treadmill business as best I could in the tiny space of our nerd hole while singing to Matilda first made her goggle, then made her smile, then put her right to sleep. Big sloppy kisses to OK Go for that!

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it's a damn good bouncy pop song

I first heard it on the radio and was all "Hey, it's OK Go. The 'Ffista music peeps like them. And they're on my radio!" and I thought the song was nice, catchy, and energetic.

But that video reaches a transcendant level of awesome.

it certainly isn't Deathless Epic Rock For The Ages

Muse is trying for that title. Especially with songs like Stockholm Syndrome. I leave it to the listener to decide if they succeeded.

Also, approximating the treadmill business as best I could in the tiny space of our nerd hole while singing to Matilda

Please tell me you video taped this and are putting in on the 'Net right now.

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Please tell me you video taped this and are putting in on the 'Net right now.

In my spit-up-covered morning clothes and bedhead hair and with my truly shitty singing voice? No way in hell, bub. Though we will be getting a digital camera with some kind of video capacity in a week or so, and Hec has already threatened to sneak up on Matilda and me with it.

::is suddenly very, very paranoid::

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I wasn't going to post this but now...what the hell. Very funny and very clever. [link]

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That's awesome, jimi. Not treadmill awesome, but possibly close.

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Interview with the guy selling the VU acetate: [link]

Bidding is up to $125K

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