A find all my own

Romeo Void is my type of an '80s band that won't be featured on any tired retrospective compilations (I should know, I own a 7-disk collection of '80s radio hits). The now-slightly absurd name might make you think they're a throwaway nostalgia trip, but I'm sure any serious music enthusiast of that day would remember them. So it's kind of like finding an obscure treasure and imagining myself a cool, slightly moody 1983 college freshman being into music I could be proud of these days.

Anyway, I looked up some of their music after I remember my oldest sister, quite some time ago, singing the hook to one of their songs, "I might like you better if we slept together" (not directed toward me, or anyone in particular as I remember it in my naive state). I previewed some songs and just ended up buying the whole best-of iTunes album, "Warm, In Your Coat." It was ultimately worth it. I haven't so much gotten into the moodier pieces, but I love the uptempo stuff and it makes for some unsuspecting great cardio music. The lead singer has an incredibly, naturally sensual voice, someone I imagined (past tense intentional) to be a big, sexy blonde like Alec Baldwin's fling in the movie "She's Having a Baby" (either you get that reference or you don't). Anyway, my research tells me they're a New Wave band for all you genre freaks, but they have a jazzy or maybe a bit of an early ska feeling due to their repeated use of undeniably blissful horn solos.


Here are my top tracks, listed in order of essentialness:
1. Myself to Myself
2. Talk Dirty To Me (the song could be like a minute shorter with all its repititions, but it's still sassy and humorous and not obscene, if that's what you're getting at)
3. Never Say Never (the one that lead me to the album. It's still great, but too long to keep my attention)
4. Just Too Easy
5. A Girl In Trouble Is a Temporary Thing (this was another one of their hits. I like its core, but it doesn't sound as timeless as the others)
6. Wrap It Up (a slight rockabilly vibe on this one)
7. Chinatown (perhaps the sister to Siouxsie's "Hong Kong Garden")

Each song does not correspond to a desire

Must-have album: Suzanne Vega, Nine Objects of Desire (1996)



Luka stopped being used as a human punching bag and decided to take the sonic high road. This is a great New York '90s record with an air of French sophistication. You may have heard the third track "Caramel" during the dessert-eating scene of "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" (yay) and it was also used in promos for the pretentious drivel that was "Closer" (yuck).

In what was the probably the height of my guarded female singer/songwriter obsession, I cherry-picked this album at Media Play (time warp for a second there) on my 15th birthday after seeing Ms. Vega perform on The Rosie O'Donnell Show (back when she wasn't a hyper-sensitive hose beast). Anyway, Nine Objects has a signature, slightly kooky but smart sound thanks to producer (and Suzanne's then-husband) Mitchell Froom, except for two acoustic-driven tracks. SV's reedy voice remains characteristically smooth and calm throughout, but still emotive, and the lyrics are expertly-conceived and don't require a metaphorical compass to decipher. The end result is nicely gelled pleasure that doesn't stay too long (every song is in the 2-3 minute range), so just hit play and you've got a great soundtrack for making good food, eating good food, or for simply feeling urbanistic in an otherwise anonymous neighborhood.