Song of the Day: 'Fernando' by ABBA

 

It's funny how the idea of an ABBA reunion once felt like the musical equivalent of running into a Yeti. Now a new album has come and gone -- with the old hits that remain in our heads -- and it's like it never happened. 

Song of the Day: 'Don't Shut Me Down' by ABBA

Forty years after their last studio album, ABBA is back. Two songs from their upcoming album were just released -- "I Still Have Faith in You" didn't do much for me, but "Don't Shut Me Down" is pretty groovy -- and that's not the half of it. Boy Culture has the full story HERE.

Song of the Day: 'The Visitors' by ABBA

I always thought this must have made a gay-club comeback at some point because it elicits too many dancefloor memories to have been released in 1981 -- and only peaking at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. But now I'm just realizing (via Wikipedia) that Abbacadabra released several dance cover remixes of the song during the late 1990s, which apparently drugs and alcohol prevented me from realizing weren't the original! 

Trivia: "The Visitors" was selected as the second single for the U.S. market while "Head Over Heels" was released elsewhere, downgraded to a b-side in the States.

Song of the Day: 'One Night in Bangkok' by Murray Head

Add this to the growing list of songs/videos I used to dread coming on MTV that now make me giddy four decades later. (Yes, my MTV Classic binge continues!) I remember hearing that Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus were behind the musical from which this song came, "Chess." But it's only as an adult that I can really pick up the ABBAesque vibe of it all.

"Chess":

The story involves a politically driven, Cold War–era chess tournament between two grandmasters, one American and the other Soviet Russian, and their fight over a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. Although the protagonists were not intended to represent any real individuals, the character of the American grandmaster (named Freddie Trumper in the stage version) was loosely based on Bobby Fischer, while elements of the story may have been inspired by the chess careers of Russian grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov.

"Chess" allegorically reflected the Cold War tensions present in the 1980s. The musical has been referred to as a metaphor for the whole Cold War, with the insinuation being made that the Cold War is itself a manipulative game.

Released and staged at the height of the strong anti-communist agenda that came to be known as the "Reagan Doctrine," "Chess" addressed and satirized the hostility of the international political atmosphere of the 1980s.

Interesting that Murray Head had an international smash with "One Night in Bangkok" in 1984 -- No. 1 in 10 countries, No. 3 in the U.S. -- yet the musical didn't open on Broadway until four years later.

Song of the Day: 'When I Kissed the Teacher' by ABBA

Not sure if this requires a mea culpa or not, but here goes: Like most Gen Xers, I'm a lifelong ABBA fan. I grew up loving their hit singles and enjoyed seeing them on television and later on MTV. In 1982, I raced out to buy Frida's "I Know There's Something Going On" -- which would later be my anthem when my first boyfriend began a series of affairs behind my back -- and fell in love with the Swedish foursome all over again -- my, my! -- when "Mama Mia" was artfully used in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." 

(That's when every gay guy in America god "Gold" on CD, making it one of the biggest-sellers of all time!) 

But as much as I loved them, they were never my Blondie or my Pretenders. So it was only with my newfound streaming lifestyle did I finally hear their eight studio albums in their entirety -- and what journey it's been!

Before I voice any thoughts, I was wondering if ABBA was your version of my Blondie or Matt Rettenmund's Madonna? I'm still just getting knee deep in the material -- cannot believe the #AntiMeToo anthem "When I Kissed the Teacher" was actually a song much less a minor hit single! -- and would love some tutelage from a die-hard fan! 

Song of the Day: 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)' by Cher

Can't argue with this! The album, "Dancing Queen," is out today.

Song of the Day: 'S.O.S.' by Cher

Sounds exactly like when my friend Mark and I would howl laughing while singing songs "as Cher" on the phone till all hours of the night! (Try it with Cyndi Lauper's "I Drove All Night" sometime.) 

Remains of the Day (04/27)

Back2Stonewall: ABBA announce first new songs recorded in 35 years, Avatar Tour set for 2019-20

Gothamist: The MTA is in desperate need of a copy editor

Dlisted: An open post hosted by a topless “Prince Hot Ginge” at his bachelor party

CBS: Subway platform painted during rush hour leads to yellow footprints

BosGuy: If you like 'em thick and furry

Baseline: 19-year-old Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas sweeps into Barcelona semis with easy win over Dominic Thiem

Boy Culture: This bad-boy handyman has a secret

The New York Times: Lawyer who was said to have dirt on Clinton admits she's a Russian informant

The Washington Post: Golden State Killer suspect arrested after sudden DNA match

NBC News: Privacy concerns raised in way genealogy site helped catch suspected serial killer

OMG Blog: "Tree Man" Danny Jones finally exposes his girthy, long thick branch

The Daily News: Bill Cosby must wear GPS tracking device while on house arrest pending his sentencing for sex assault

Towleroad: Do you deepen your "gay voice" to sound more masculine when first meeting someone?

The Hill: Judge tosses Manafort lawsuit challenging Mueller's authority

Greg in Hollywood: Behold the best of Perry King and his macho mustache

Mother Jones: “Misleading and unsupported by the facts”: House Intelligence Democrats slam GOP Russia report

The Randy Report: See the trailer for the new Whitney Houston documentary

Hunk du Jour: This masculine man couldn't wait for Speedo Sunday

📽 from @mo_harutan 😄😄😄😄😄 ~ double tap ❤❤❤ #sweetcatclub

A post shared by Sweet Cat Club (@sweetcatclub) on Apr 23, 2018 at 11:48pm PDT

Hot Cat of the Day: And I didn't even know Pavlov had cats!

Song of the Day: 'Honey Honey' by ABBA

Yes, I know!

P.S.

How sad(?) that they finally reunited, but it was just for a restaurant that does sing-along versions of their hits!

Song of the Day: 'I Have a Dream' by ABBA

The jury's still out as to who had a greater impact on society -- Martin Luther King Jr. or ABBA -- but there is one thing they had in common ...

Chris Klein Ties the Knot

Congrats to the happy couple. I sure hope he sang at the reception.

Song of the Day: 'Head Over Heels' by ABBA

Before the Go-Go's and Tears for Fears, the Swedish superstars were "Head Over Heels" ... and then they broke up.

Song of the Day: 'Happy New Year' by ABBA

The Spanish version ("Felicidad") hit No. 5 on the charts in Argentina! 

Rama Reunion

Although I make a great stand-in for Shakespeare's wayward sister, I must confess that these photos Sara Dallin tweeted with Keren Woodward and ex-Bananarama mate Siobhan Fahey reunited at Giorgio's nightclub in my beloved Standard Hotel in West Hollywood brought a huge smile to my face. That's the joint's namesake, Giorgio Moroder, in the bottom shot, who would be a dream producer for the gals' next album -- especially if they could somehow get Shuv onboard. I know you said you'd never do it again, but that couldn't-miss cover of "Waterloo" you got back together for in 1998 somehow managed to miss the mark -- surely you're entitled to one mulligan!

Song of the Day: 'I Know There's Something Going On' by Frida

Frida Lyngstad's first single, "I Know There's Something Going On," didn't end up turning the ABBA chanteuse into a solo superstar. But it sure was a great way to start.  

Song of the Day: 'Happy New Year' by ABBA

 While looking for a New Year's Song of the Day yesterday, a Facebook friend to this ABBA track from 1980's "Super Trouper," which according to Wikipedia has quite an interesting trajectory of the last three decades:

The lead vocals are by Agnetha Fältskog. The song's working title was all the more festive and humorous; "Daddy Don't Get Drunk on Christmas Day"  Although recorded in 1980, the English-language song wasn't released as a single until 1999 and charted in Sweden (#4), The Netherlands (#8), and Germany (#75), to promote the CD re-release of many of ABBA's singles. "Felicidad" was the Spanish language version of the song. The single charted in the top 5 in Argentina. The song was also included on the South American versions of the "Super Trouper" album. Released in 1980 in Argentina, the single's B-side was the album's title track, "Super Trouper."

The video -- which for a fairly unknown song has racked up more than 7 million hits --  is pretty fabulous, sort of a cross between an Ikea catalog and stock footage from Studio 54!

Song of the Day: 'The Winner Takes It All' by ABBA

On a day like today I think this one speaks for itself. 

ONJ Makes a Good Thing Better

I'm pretty much willing to concede that this medley from Olivia Newton-John's network TV special in 1978 -- featuring ABBA and Andy Gibb -- is about as good as life gets. Not sure what makes me happier, when Olivia whips out a few seconds of "Please Mr. Please" (swoon -- you won't ever catch me playing B-17) or the vacant looks on Agnetha and Frida's faces when Andy launches into "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," and it's completely obvious they have no idea what he's saying -- possibly where they even are! 

 

How do you say confused in Swedish?

 

 And this segment might even be better, as one commenter called it, "What happens when you die and go to '70s heaven!" 

   

 You see this, Tammy Nicholas? I'm not the only guy who sings the girls parts when Olivia Newton-John is involved.

Blondie vs. Abba: 'Hanging on the Ring Ring'

While I'm pretty sure Dan-o-Rama could have made a much better video, there's no denying Blondie's "Hanging on the Telephone" and ABBA's "Ring Ring" -- the title track of the Swedes' debut album -- were born to be together.

'Mamma Mia' Comes to the Silver Screen!

Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan singing and dancing to the music of ABBA? I'm in!