Flashback

I'm listening to these old favorites now. I love the shit out of them:

Pet Shop Boys, "The End of the World." A forgotten album track on 1990's Behaviour, the kind of song for which adjectives like "autumnal" seem appropriate. "The End of the World" perfects the detached-observer persona which Neil Tennant adopted on Please, except now it's clear that the scenario he outlines with such clarity is one he's experienced (experiencing?) himself, and the thumping beats and Violater guitar expose the pain in his voice.

Natural Selection, "Do Anything." One of the best Prince rips ever recorded, kept from hitting number one in the fall of 1991 by Prince himself (doing Prince-by-numbers with "Cream" and doing a damn fine job of it). Hot synth-guitar, silvery falsettos, and Madonna backup singer Nikki Harris' cooed encouragements.

Jennifer Paige, "Crush." A pop song with a chilling subtext. It's just a little crush? She's telling her boy not to "over-analyze"? What the fuck?! Not even adorned in the Kabuki garb of Glitter did Mariah Carey expose as guilelessly as this singer.