Yazoo - Upstairs at Eric's

The final shot in Wong Kar-Wai's "Fallen Angels" has two of the leads riding in a tunnel under the city of Hong Kong. The girl (played by Michelle Reis) is narrating that the two of them haven't had a connection but how she is currently enjoying the "lovely warmth," to the tune of The Flying Pickets' "Only You." Great closing moment. Always makes me want to instantly re-watch the movie. The song is excellent and only recently did I hear that it is a cover of 1980s synth-pop legends "Yazoo."

Not only that but there are singles on this record that you are guaranteed to have heard before even if you have never heard of "Yazoo." Classic, poppy, synth dance songs, and a monster-solid slow jam - "Only You." Soooo worth it. While you're at it see "Fallen Angels." Great fucking movie.

DL

V/A - I Stayed Up All Night Listening to Records

A collection of lo-fi gems. Bill Fox's "Electrocution," Tobin Sprout's "Cryptic Shapes," Jenny Mae's "Drapes," and so many others are classic classic songs. This isn't rowdy low fidelity. It mostly falls on the indie folk side of things, but the tape hiss and awkward production lend bucketfulls of charm. Yeah, some of the tracks are bullshit (I can't stand the opener) but there are more than enough solid gold numbers to require a DL. Highly recommended if only to pad your Bob Pollard complete collection (and good luck with that by the way).

DL

Skip the first 45 or so second of this to get to the goods.