Song of the Day: 'Santa's on His Way' by the Pipettes

Here's one by the short-lived British girl group, whose revolving door of members rivaled the Flirts. Pity, really. Each incarnation had some truly memorable moments, including this holiday gem. produced by the late/great Martin Rushent.

Live From New York!

Riotbecki and a newly red Gwenno work their magic, above

Gwenno is pretty in pink, above; Rosay takes the lead, below

My friend Matt and I caught the Pipettes show last night at the wonderful (and beautifully restored) Blender Theatre (aka Gramercy Theatre). The show started with the bizarre Monster Bobby, who is credited with creating the Pipettes and is the guitarist of their backup band, the Cassette. I'm not really sure what his deal is (he plays tape recordings of bizarre noises and occasionally sings), but luckily it was quiet enough that the audience could continue to socialize while waiting for the main event. Next up was Jersey girl Nicole Atkins, whose just-released CD you might recall is my new fave. She did not disappoint live. In fact, it became pretty clear halfway into her set that a huge percentage of the crowd was there for her (and became even more apparent when 20 percent of the crowd left when she finished). Matt happened to know her publicist, Benny Tarantini, so I got to gush about how much I like her. He said her performance on Letterman was a huge success and top-search on Google (it was easy to see why). The (dare I say) hottest part of her set was when this studly Jersey guy in a leather jacket next to us disagreed with her announced final number and shouted, "Neptune City!" to which she replied, "OK, we can do that," and she went ahead and did that one instead. (Has that ever happened? Well, like I said, he was awfully hot.)

Then it was party time and the Pipettes came flying out on stage in their signature polka-dot dresses performing "Dance and Boogie," one of the bonus tracks of the U.S. version of their debut disc. The girls looked and sounded great, which was a relief as I wasn't sure how much of their sound was studio trickery. Sure, "Pull Shapes" and "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me"-- which some guy wearing a Go-Go's Prime Time (Talk Show) tour T-shirt pointed out to me is the same song as "We Got the Beat" -- stand out as the band's best songs, but I still thought the show was a hoot and didn't really agree with Matt's one-trick pony assessment (having songs that stand out as "singles" is a good thing and hey, Bananarama stills puts out fun records), even if I could see why he was far more taken with Nicole than with the Fab Three. The night was made extra fun by running into Shannon from work, finally meeting online pal Brian Ferrari and randomly meeting my agent friend Christopher's concert-loving harem by way of a Studio 54 crack. (Love you, girls!)

Just a little touch of star quality: Nicole Atkins, below

Check out her fun American Express ad, below. She reminds me of a cross between Justine Bateman, Gina Gershon and my friend Kandy!

Tonight: The Pipettes in NYC!!!

 

Tonight's the big Pipettes show at the Blender Theatre. If this clip from Friday's gig at Vinyl in Atlanta is any indication, it's going to be a fun night!

The Pipettes: 'Judy'

Another classic single and video from the Pipettes' near-flawless debut, "We Are the Pipettes." (The U.S. version is now out and includes two new songs that weren't on the import.) I just bought tickets for their New York City show next month and cannot wait to see the girls live.

'Pull Shapes' by The Pipettes

 

Here's the new single from British girl-group sensation The Pipettes!

Long Live The Pipettes!

I got my hands on a bunch of new Pipettes songs over the weekend and let's just say I will be racing to the record shop on July 17 when the debut album "We Are the Pipettes" is released ...

Go to The Pipettes MySpace profile here

Previously: I HEART the Pipettes

I HEART The Pipettes!

Being the '80s reject that I am, it takes a lot to get me excited about a new band. Luckily for me my co-worker Jesse still has the enthusiasm of a teenager when it comes to seeking out new music. He knows my taste (pure pop, preferably with a fun girl singer), so he picks his recommendation moments very carefully. A few years back he turned me on to Ivy (how could I have missed that one? Oh, wait. They were formed after 1989 ...). Last week he changed my life(!) when he turned me on to The Pipettes, a three-girl singing group from Britain. They've released a handful of delightful singles and have a debut album, "We Are The Pipettes," slated for release on July 17. Now writing about music is never easy, but my friend Mark described The Pipettes perfectly when he said they were like "Tracey Ullman, Josie Cotton, Mari Wilson and the Vels all in one!" I'd just tack on "produced by Phil Spector" and leave it up to you to check out the most exciting and fun new bands I've heard in ages ...

Listen to their music on MySpace here. (Start with their new single "Pull Shapes" and you'll be hooked!)

Check out their fun Web site here.