Back in the late 80s and early 90s, a decade before ‘Nsync, The Backstreet Boys, or their derivatives graced us with their pop/RnB crooning, we had the New Kids on The Block.

My favourite member was Jordan Knight. I’m not ashamed to say that I was a member of their official fan club for a while. So when a friend of mine recently sent an email around that pre-ordering their new album, The Block, would give me access to priority booking for their UK tour, I was all over it. Just after midnight this morning the album was ready for download, and I transferred it to my ipod for my journey to work.

(Pic courtesy of nkotbofficial)

Of course there were certain tracks which really appealed to me straight away, such as Grown Man; Big Girl Now; and Lights, Camera, Action; and Twisted, but there weren’t any duds. I loved that their vocal sound was similar to the old days (the harmonies, and Jordan’s unmistakable falsetto), but the production brought up to date. Dance tracks, mid-tempos, funky grinds, ballads – it’s all there.

Now I can’t wait til I can book my concert ticket. Time to dig out my vinyl Step by Step single to sneak it onto my dad’s turntable.

Here’s my favourite track of all, no doubt I’ll be playing this on the ipod constantly for the next few weeks.

NKOTB (featuring Pussycat Dolls & Teddy Riley): Grown Man

My only slight disappointment is that the iTunes download doesn’t include the accompanying album artwork, song info, etc., so I’ll probably end up buying the CD anyway.

NKOTB History on Wikipedia

Video: U and UR Hand by Pink

Video: (If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here by Shania Twain

My theme is quite obvious, aside from the flat stomachs displayed by both singers. Both songs are basically about telling sleazy guys to back off. Quite appropriate for a Friday night, wouldn’t you say?

UPDATE: I was just watching the Pink video a minute ago. She’s so cute, especially with the long hair. Anyway, I noticed that in one section she was reading a book called A Suggestive Inquiry into Hermetic Mystery, and I thought it sounded interesting so I looked it up. I wasn’t sure if it was a real book, but it turned out to be a tome about alchemy, mysticism, philosophy and an exceeding difficult read. I wonder how far Pink got with it…

Video: My Moon My Man by Feist

As someone who grew up with MTV in the late eighties/early nineties, I wanted to become a music video director. Seeing imaginative, fun videos like this one reminds me of that dream.

But I ain’t got wings

Learning to Fly by Tom Petty

Love this song, and the video. For some reason in my confused memory I thought that Johnny Depp had appeared in it, but apparently not.

You can fill in the blanks

10am

Video: I Can’t Dance by Genesis

Noon

Video: Wouldn’t it be Loverly from My Fair Lady

3pm

Video: Twisted (Everyday hurts) by Skunk Anansie