The Lovebites may well have done a cover of this for their next single's b-side, but it'll never be as ace as this version. Shebang are one of the acest groups in the history of pop, and this is one of their best songs - even better than the original by The Primitives which is ace in itself. Sadly Shebang's last single, a cover of Kids In America (they do have some amazing original songs as well - Romeo and Temple Of Love are 2 of my faves), did not do too well and they haven't been seen since :(

One of the best pop discoveries I've made through Fluxblog, and there have been very many, is Gene Serene. First her catchy electro-pop song You Want Me was posted there, in which I love the smart, girl-powered lyrics and her way of singing - she manages to be super-cool yet entirely likeable, which is a rare accomplishment. On The Hours, another song posted on Fluxblog, she sounds weary and vulnerable, seeming especially timid imposed over the tough electronic backing music, making the lyrics heart-breaking. Like The Light Bulb Project, Gene Serene, is a very generous pop star, giving away most of her new album Genesis for free on her web site. Most of the songs sound more like You Want Me than The Hours, but every one is different and yet equally fantastic. In fact, the sound is not that different from The Light Bulb Project, although some songs (Wicked and her cover of Should I Stay Or Should I Go) sound more like a slightly more sophisticated Shampoo, while All Over You wouldn't be out of place on Gwen Stefani's next album. There's just something so appealing about this girl's voice and style, and I don't think it's just me.

(Left click the link)
Regular visitors to Catchy Tunes of Sweden will be well aware of the new Swedish girl group Cat5, makers of cute, catchy electro-pop tunes like Sexy and Play This Loud. If you like them or just the sound of them, you'll definitely like The Light Bulb Project, which according to my slightly limited Internet learnings, seems to be the old band of some or all of the Cat5 members. They're also very generous, giving away 6 brilliant songs for free on their web site. Fair Game is my favourite for it's lovely backing music, but I also love the lyrics of If I Liked Sports, I'd Be One (they're a little nonsensical, but anything that's anti-sport is great for me). All the songs are really really good, so I would recommend downloading them all, but especially the 2 mentioned above. It's Swedish electropop of the very highest calibre.

Ever wondered what Bodies Without Organs would sound like if they went in an 80s cheesy rock direction? Well, neither had I but I'm very glad to know! This song was recorded by Martin, the singer of BWO (as they are now called since Bodies Without Organs is difficult for non-English speakers to pronounce), when he took part in a Swedish Popstars programme. Catchy Tunes of Sweden recently posted his version of How Deep Is Your Love, and it's good enough, but I love this Sweet cover all the more - it really does sound like what BWO would be if they went in a cheesy 80s rock direction ie. utterly fab and quite a bit silly! I can't remember if Martin is actually openly gay but if he is it's nice to see he was comfortable in singing "Wig wam bam gonna make you my man" so early in his career!

This song has recently been posted on Poptimists where it received a very mixed reaction, which surprised me very much as I think it's utterly amazing! They have been called a mixture of indie and stadium rock but obviously whoever said that had never heard a pop song because if they had they'd know that a pop song is exactly what this is. I particularly love the spelling out of their name and the line "rock and roll, disco, heavy metal angel", although you can't really understand its greatness without hearing it. Their new album has only been out 10 days in the USA but hopefully they'll be heading for the UK soon.

I discovered this song using the fantastic web site Pandora, where you can listen to songs which has been scientifically (or as scientific as you can be about music) proven to be most like the music you already like. It's limited to artists who've released in the US, but with imagination you can still discover fab music. German-born Peter Schilling (who as you can see from the photo on the left was quite a looker in his day!) is most famous for his 1983 hit single Major Tom (I'm Coming Home), but this song should be his trademark because it's far better. It features a girl who is clearly not named Peter Schilling, and the overall sound is most comparable to the Human League. If that still means nothing to you (it wouldn't have to me a few years ago, when all I knew them for was Don't You Want Me Baby and a man with lop-sided hair) then perhaps think an even more 80s version of The Modern. A lot of these 80s electro songs seem to focus too much on their cool sound (as it must have all been quite new and exciting at the time) and not enough on making a great pop song, but this is the reverse. It's a great pop duet with a catchy chorus and the 80s sound fits it perfectly. A visit to his web site tells me Peter is still alive (well, the 80s weren't that long ago), has terrible taste in head-wear and recently wrote a self-help book called "Wellness"!

I'm back! I can't promise to be any less sporadic for the next week (I have 3 exams and am in a mega-stess because I've been working really hard and yet still feel utterly unprepared), but I have been continuing to write on Dirrrty Pop as much as possible so if you miss me that much go there instead. Now, onto the music. This is Fefe's latest single and it is absolutely excellent, as is its video. The first time I listened several months ago I wasn't paying attention properly so I thought it was OK but proceded to forget about it and it wasn't until yesterday when it popped up on my mp3 player on the bus that I heard it again and fell in love with it. I even played it over 3 times in a row which is a very rare thing for me because I have a very short attention span and usually want to hear something else after 4 minutes or so of one song, but not this one! I don't know why this works so much better than her previous songs - I have her album and although there's quite a few godo songs there's nothing even approaching this for power and angsty fabulousness. Fefe is strange-looking and her voice can be very annoying, but on the right song she can be great.