Pushes all of my buttons

Okay, fair enough, there's been a slightly downbeat tone to this blog so far - working late hours, January, being broke, mates leaving, etc - which isn't really me, but just my current mood: I write from work; you try being cheerful.

But in the canteen just now (potato and onion fritatta, under the lights long enough to not be succulent any more, but still greasy, with salad) I enjoyed a guaranteed pick-me-up.

Now, for the most part, I like my music rocky, dirty and authentic: the Stones (pervy, rocky; was listening to 'Stray Cat Blues' last night - who else could sing 'I can see that you're just 15 years old, I don't want no ID'?), Bowie (perverse), Ramones (gritty yet bubblegum), Dylan (heartfelt, Blood on the Tracks, etc), or else really soulful. Chart/pop music just passes me by. Soulless fakers attempting 'authenticity' - from James Blunt to Coldplay, via Pete Doherty (who, incidentally, is the most frequent entry into Cunts Corner on www.holymoly.co.uk) - enrages me.

However, there's this little pop ditty - 'Push the Button' by the Sugababes - that is guaranteed to put a smile on my face (I won't include an audio link, because I haven't figured that out yet, but I'm sure you've heard it). At first listen, it's a little repetetive, more likely to appeal to 11-year-olds than anything else, but in fact it's really quite complex. A friend of mine, who shall herein be known as the Scholar, once said the way to judge how intricate a pop song (which is judged on melody and beat) is is to try humming it; he was talking about 'Survivor' by Destiny's Child, and he was right. Try humming or whistling 'She Loves You' by the Beatles: easy, it's just a couple of variations on a chord progression. Try it with 'Push the Button': not so easy. There's a lot going on in that little pop song.

You might also find that parts of it sound a bit like 'Last Christmas' by Wham!, particularly the line: 'I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning'. Regardless, it's just a sweet, catchy little gem of a song - despite lines about 'the freak', 'my sexy ass', 'push the button', etc and a cut-and-paste girlband writhathon video - and it always makes me smile, whatever grey fuzz that passes for a mood I happen to be in at the time. It kinda reminds me of, as a small child on a hot summer's day, standing slugging down great big glasses of apple juice in the cool bathe of the open fridge, before dashing out for more play. Good stuff. I really should buy the single. Actually, their next single, 'Red Dress' has a cover of dull-as-ditchwater latest hype-victims the Arctic Monkeys' 'Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor'. Bet the Sugababes' version is better on the dancefloor

I'm busy throwing hints that he keeps missing
Don't have to think about it
I Wanna kiss and
Everything around it but he's too distant
I wanna feel his body
I can't resist it

I know my hidden looks can be deceiving
But how obvious should a girl be?
I was taken by the early conversation piece
And I really like the way that he respect me

I've been waiting patiently for him to come and get it
I wonder if he knows that he can say it and I'm with it
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Catch this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos

[Chorus] If you're ready for me boy
You'd better push the button and let me know
Before I get the wrong idea and go
You're gonna miss the freak that I control

I'm busy showing him what he's been missing
I'm kind of showing off for his full attention
My sexy ass has got him in the new dimension
I'm ready to do something to relieve this mission

After waiting patiently for him to come and get it
He came on through and asked me if I wanted to get with him
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Won't miss this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos

[Chorus x2]

I've been dropping so many hints
You're still not getting it
Now that you've heard everything I have to say
Where we gonna go from here?

After waiting patiently for him to come and get it
He came over and asked me if I wanted to get with him
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Won't miss this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos

[Chorus x2, repeat to fade]