The 80s-90s Lost Classics Rate - Goodbye Wes! :'-(

D

Deleted member 26234

Oh I know Esther Ofarim - my grandmother used to play this a lot:




To Elsa - 6 points. It's really a nice song, but I didn't like her singing much as well. But if I had known what the song is about I think I would have rated it higher, maybe 7.
 
I felt a bit bad giving T’en Va Pas a 6 because I did want to like it more, but I feel a bit happier knowing that @Filippa gave the same score! I think the production could be stronger in the verses.

It was very interesting reading your commentary @berserkboi and thank you for sharing with us. I'll listen to the song from a different perspective now. I can't relate to the lyric myself though because when my parents divorced we all wanted my dad to leave asap!
 
He/Him
Berserky returns - and he is hurting at least one person who lost this classic over the years!
























































The four of us High Scorers against the world I guess!!





































As a sidenote - with Filippa nominating at least one French act, has Berserkboi done the same with at least one German act or are we back to the French men for the foreseeable future?



























































































Well, this is a surprise!

































#37
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Sasha - If You Believe
Picked By: Berserkboi
Credentials:
#2 Austria (13th Best Selling Single of 1999, Certified GOLD), #2 Belgium (22nd Best Selling Single of 1999), #2 Netherlands (6th Best Selling Single of 1999), #3 Germany (50th Best Selling Single 1998, 35th Best Selling Single of 1999, Certified PLATINUM, 500000 Units SOLD)
Average Score: 7.2681
Highest Score: 10 @berserkboi @Sprockrooster @Remorque @Epic Chocolat
Lowest Score: 2 @daninternational

I can already picture Sprocky seeing this 2 and telling me off for letting trolling ballots in ddd Between Savio, Dan and Ace - well reputed lovers of Male Vocals, it still makes sense that the slower Male tracks weren’t likely to make it far as we are here on the PopJustice Forum, and BOPZ RULE the day, hey? I am mentioning Ace but in reality his score for this one was close to the average at 7.3, which seems generous except for the fact his wonderful ballot average is 8.406 making this still one of his least favourite tracks here. I am glad he did not tank beautiful Sasha, and for that and a multitude of reasons - he’ll always be MY Ace! <3

Jokes and silliness aside, Sasha is one of a very few German picks on the list from me - and it is with good reason! Monsieur Dick Brave is a pivotal crush from my adolescence, and I still recall memories of the innocent gay romance I craved with him while daydreaming, and those were light years away from the less PG romance I had in mind with other Male Pop Stars. I have come to realise over the years that a bit of this had to do with presentation. See - Sasha is not that far removed from David Charvet in terms of looks for me, yet Sasha not appearing shirtless running through the sand on Baywatch “coded” me to want something different from him in my fantasies. It blows my mind looking back at how “branding” of a pop star can work so effectively with one’s subconscious mind - even when we create fantasies with our imagination!

If You Believe is such a gorgeous song to me. The soft melody, barely changing gear throughout really echoes the text of first love - and consuming this romantic relationship for the first time (with a well placed falsetto climax). I imagine the effect may have been most effective for us 4 High Scorers as we were in our teens (I am assuming here - but please correct me if I am wrong!) and this idealised view of the experience climaxing hadn’t yet triggered any real life detractors in our brain. To this day, I can close my eyes listening to If You Believe and picture every intimate detail as Sasha describes it. I suppose this element of poetry/storytelling is why the song has been so enduring for me over the years. Real Life eventually teaches us that love is not constantly like this, but I can still close my eyes and believe in Sasha one more time.

Filippa already covered some of the background with Sasha when recounting the beginnings of Young Deenay, and how Sasha’s star rose pretty quickly from his backing vocal contribution to her debut - leading to him having a long lasting music career whereas she pursued an academic path. If You Believe onwards, Sasha (under this stage name or the Dick Brave alter ego) has been a very successful Music figure in Germany - with all of his albums bar one hitting the Top 10 there, even as recently as 2018. If any of you have favourite cuts from his discography at large, feel free to share. Sadly for me, I left Mauritius shortly after I Feel Lonely was released, and with Sasha not having any profile in Australia I lost touch with his career progression, and will need some assistance!

@Sprockrooster (10) makes me proud @Filippa and I went ahead with this rate! - What the fuck! This takes me back to my cassette recording days. I played this so much I automatically feel like Jewel's Standing Still follows this song as I recorded that one after it. But the last time I heard this is over 15 years I assume, so imagine the rotation of those plays. So an actual lost classic from Sprocky in this rate, but bless this rate making me acquainted with this again. I can't believe I still know the lyrics to this. This song is such an emotional rollercoaster ride. GOD DAMN! WHEW. I am tearing up.

@Ezz (8) teaches me some expressions about hairstyles I never knew - THANK YOU!! - This gets lots of ticks for the nostalgia fest - floppy curtain hair, long leather jackets, cheesy ballads. Lovely! @Filippa (9) is all for that gorgeous tone, and I completely agree! - A song to love, he’s got such an amazing voice. @DominoDancing (7) will have to share who some of the crushes of his adolescence were as I assumed all crushed on Herr Schmitz! Ddd - Sasha always came across as likeable, but this is, despite being quite well produced, just a bit basic for me. @Epic Chocolat (10) must tell us how he found Sasha back in the day since I cannot see anywhere that If You Believe troubled the French Charts! - I loved it then, I love it now. The melody, the inviting vocals. The little falsetto at the end.

@WowWowWowWow (8) seems to have crushed like I did here! Ddd Also BRB - need to go exploring! - HELLO. I value the ~3 minutes of my life when I only knew of Sasha as Sasha and not as (per Wikipedia) Sasha with the alter ego Dick Brave. I need to wash that image out of my brain with a deep dive into Google Image searches for Sascha Schmitz. Let it out indeed!

@daninternational (2) is the biggest non-fan amongst our midst, though maybe I Feel Lonely will be more his speed! - Ok he has the same voice as the Latvian Cake to Bake guy. Which is... not a compliment at all :D the song is dull and cheesey at the same time. @berserkboi (10) may have already expanded on this! - Sasha was a landmark crush for me, and this amazing song is partly responsible! @MilesAngel (6) is closer to Dan than me, it would seem - This is nice but a bit tame and nondescript. @jtm (9.8) loses high and low scores with brisk frequency, hey? - This is great. I always thought he was a one hit wonder, but apparently not.

Au revoir to my first English cut - it was not yet your time!


I Feel Lonely (a follow-up to If You Believe, reaching the Top 10 in several Continental European countries)


I somehow remember this one too!


This is his most recent single according to Wikipedia - and he is very much my type still! Ddd Xtra eligible?
 
D

Deleted member 26234

I like best

Sasha - Coming Home
It's a Christmas song somehow, but watch the video. It's funny with Sasha playing each person in it.


Sasha - Lucky Day


Sasha - Slowly


Sasha ft. Maria Mena - Wide Awake
 
@DominoDancing (7) will have to share who some of the crushes of his adolescence were as I assumed all crushed on Herr Schmitz!
I really didn't ever have crushes on singers or actors or anyone else who might appear on my tv as a teenager. A literal
tenor.gif
. But early Sasha would have been a little too slick for my tastes.

For what it's worth, I actually really like Slowly, which is most people consider a bit of an also-ran in terms of his singles. I think some of the harmony changes and the slower build up make it less sappy than some of his other early singles. The Dick Brave stuff I can take or leave. It's a cute gimmick, but that's it.
 
D

Deleted member 26234

Hello! Sadly we lose one of my songs today ....













































It's from a band I disliked generally but this one song because of these intense lyrics ....










































To do them justice I've read a lot of newspaper-articles, listened to their interviews after the band disbanded ....









































and learned that I don't dislike them at all. In fact I really respect them, how they coped, what they did with their lives after their success ended ....

























and I am really upset how they were treated at the peak of their success.




































So who do I talk about?
#36



Tic Tac Toe - Warum

Picked By: @Filippa
Credentials: Platinum in Germany, Gold in Austria and Switzerland, #1 in Germany and Switzerland, #3 in Austria (more than 550.000 units sold)
Average Score: 7.2841
Highest Score: 10 @Sprockrooster, @Phonetics Girl, @daninternational, @Filippa
Lowest Score: 2.5 @If You Go

Well, at first all they told were lies and then the truth was turned against them until they broke.

Like Blümchen Tic Tac Toe was a casted not a genuine act. The story was that they met at a hip-hop contest. Lee was the single female rapper in this contest and Ricky and Jazzy joined her spontaneously on the stage. Lee didn’t win but all three got a record contract. And at least Lee and Jazzy lied about their age, they all claimed to be teenagers … In fact, Claudia Wohlfromm, their manager, chose them and in the beginning they were a band of four or five girls …

But the success was incredible, they are still one of the most successful German girl groups ‘till today. And that’s although they didn’t get any credit for what they were doing, because how come that a woman-related topic can be of any interest when we had the so interesting problems of their male encounters (sorry for that). But the teenage girls embraced them and secretly not only the teenage girls but many young women who felt disadvantaged, betrayed or simply not respected. And then there were the really heartfelt lyrics like in “Warum”, their most successful song. It’s about a girl, a friend of Lee, who committed apparently suicide because of her drug-addiction. Why, she asks in tears, why? Just for the kick, for the moment?

And then suddenly at the peak at their success everything turned around. As if the world had to put them back where they belonged. Not being cheeky, getting away with it and even making a lot of money of it but disguised as betrayers, heartless human beings doing anything for money. Then the world would be ok again, the male rappers could go on rapping about their crimes and being glorified for it while the women knew their place again: at home waiting for their beloved husbands and spoiling them after their exhaustingly busy day.

Lee was the victim. Her husband, whom she had to deny because of the teenage-girl-dream-come-true, they had to held up, committed suicide and was only found after a few months. His family blamed her, and the press was eager to support this view. Then it was revealed that she and Jazzy were older than they had told, and that Lee had worked as a prostitute in her youth. Truth was that the couple had problems. The problem was that Lee had her own life, that she worked and had the time of her life and that her husband had nothing of that. It wasn’t about the success that Lee had but that she got the chance to get away from their mutual depressing back-ground, that she had found something that was worth living for and he had still nothing. So, he repeatedly ended the relationship and Lee tried to make them work and stay together. And on one of these occasions he disappeared, Lee tried to find him, told the police he was missing and even hired a detective, but he seemingly vanished into thin air (but committed suicide and was only found months later). After she learned the truth and the shit of the press set in, she somehow coped and the band even found the strength to embark on their first tour. The tour was successful but, in the end, the youngest of the girls couldn’t cope with all that happened. It was Ricky who couldn’t go on anymore and needed help. They had to cancel some concerts, what Lee and even Jazzy couldn’t understand. And instead of reconciling they quarrelled at the press conference which made them infamous forever.


What did PopJustice think?

@jtm (8.1) Extra points for the best press conference by any girlgroup ever, which I guess made them more famous internationally than their songs ever did

@DominoDancing (6.5) You know, back in 90s I used to make fun of this all the time for being so damn earnest, but really, my younger sister could have listened to music with a worse message, so in the end this had its place and good reason to exist.

@berserkboi (8.6) A lot of pain is communicated, which is leading to a higher score than the melody alone would otherwise!

@Filippa (10) Heartbreaking lyrics.

@WowWowWowWow (7) Well... that escalated quickly. OH GOD WAIT IT'S ABOUT ONE OF THEIR FRIENDS WHO OVERDOSED WHY DID I WRITE A RON BURGUNDY QUOTE AS MY COMMENT????

@saviodxl (8) Nice! So, is this like a german version of All Saints meets TLC meets angsty vocals in the chorus?

@daninternational (10) For my 30th birthday my German colleague made me a playlist with one German song from each year I'd been alive. The Tic Tac Toe song (Ich find' dich scheisse) was one of my favourites. This is good too. I love angry nGerman females (see also 'Ich habe meine Tage')

@Phonetics Girl (10) So were they actually the first girls to scream on a track? Miss Kelis, Miss Kelis...

@Ezz (7.5) This packs an emotional punch. Very powerful.

@MilesAngel (5.5) I like the backing track to this, it has very nice piano. The way she sings the chorus is very raw and affecting

@Sprockrooster (10) The drama of it all. I decided to stan this lost classic forever.

Warum


Ich find dich scheiße


Verpiss dich



Spiegel

(that's from their short come-back in 2005)
 
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In retrospect it is really an absolute embarrassment how German society scandalized the "revelations" about Lee's past and how little empathy there was for them, including Ricky, who was cracking from the pressure of being in a pop group as a teenager. I cannot say that I was a huge fan of their music, but the way the tabloids and German "comedy shows" tore into them was absolutely inhuman. And I was a part of that in that I also laughed at Anke Engelke doing her "best" Ricky impersonation. But Anke just recently did an interview where she insisted it was not mean spirited, and that's just not true.
 
He/Him
This was an incredibly revealing read @Filippa - I thank you immensely for the research you’ve put into this. It makes me wonder how many female stars I have dismissed growing up reading lies/exaggerations about them in the papers (as our only source of news back then), and how many men I may have glossed over their behaviour as their ugliest moments were hidden from us.

An example that comes to mind much later in life for me was Claude François, whose music I’ve loved for years growing up but reading up on him now - his treatment of France Gall and lots of his partners being barely of age back in the day, I cannot listen to his music with the same love anymore (and why you’ve yet to see me try him in Retro).

Conversely, Sheila and Dalida were treated so poorly in the press as they persevered in their career due to ageism (aimed only at women, quelle surprise!!) when the media glossed over actual bad behaviour from the men!

Such a shame to hear Tic Tac Toe has this treatment from the press to contend with. I hope each member is as happy as they can be today!
 
D

Deleted member 26234

Such a shame to hear Tic Tac Toe has this treatment from the press to contend with. I hope each member is as happy as they can be today!

Well Jazzy seemed to be the one who loved the publicity best. She took part in every show you can imagine, but is now married in France and tries to open up her own business.

Ricky, who is according to wiki the niece of Dr. Alban, caught up a high-school graduation after the band broke up. She studied to become a teacher, but she had to drop out because of depression (sadly again). She has kids now and studies to become an occupational therapist.

I don't know anything about Lee, as she disappeared after an interview in 2009. She was then occupied as a cashier at a local zoo, a job she seemed to like. Neither Jazzy nor Ricky had any contact with her since then, she is said to be in the UK somewhere.
 

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