¡viva la graham!

many born in the late ’80s or early ’90s have tragically not been schooled in the songs of ’70s swedish pop supergroup abba. so since it’s flashback friday, i’ve got an important bit of queer aural education for the young ones.

casual fans tend to love the time-tested classics — “waterloo,” “mamma mia,” “dancing queen.” i enjoy these old favorites on occasion, but in my opinion nothing beats the quirky, unadulterated cheese of lesser known hits like “fernando.” launched as the follow-up to “mamma mia” in 1976, the single peaked at no. 13 in the u.s. and even topped the charts in several other countries.

the song’s absurd charm lies in its random theme: two old soldiers reminiscing about a war presumably fought in mexico. a choice lyric: “do you still recall the fateful night we crossed the rio grande / i can see it in your eyes how proud you were to fight for freedom in this land.”

in the clip i posted below, the serious expressions on the faces of singers anna-frid and agnetha are icing on the cake. while it’s all achingly amusing, “fernando” is actually ridiculously catchy. even if you don’t like it, i promise you’ll be singing it long afterwards.

i discovered scottish rock band travis nine years ago, amusingly enough, while waiting for the spice girls to perform in an ampitheater just outside nashville. the girls had no opening act, so instead they played pop videos from their native britain on several giant screens on the stage.

afterwards, all i could recall was the title, “tied to the ’90s.” this was before the internet was so easily accessible, so i had to search a catalog in a record store to figure out who sang the song. when i did, i purchased the album good feeling and became an instant fan.

when the band made it big a few years later with the man who and “why does it always rain on me?,” they attempted to distance themselves from this silly, beatle’esque track. i don’t think they ever play the song live. if you’ve never seen this clip, you should enjoy seeing what travis have been hiding all this time. ah, don’t they all look so young??

completely forgot about flashback friday last week, sorry about that! my memory’s not quite what it used to be…

let’s head back to 1995, when grunge-pop act veruca salt exploded on mtv with “seether.” i always thought there was some serious lesbian friction between the band’s two original female members, nina gordon and louise post (see photo!). as far as i know, they’re both straight, but surely they provided some sapphic inspiration for young dykes-in-training.

here’s the low-budget, totally ’90s video for “number one blind,” which i always thought was the superior track from their debut disc american thighs. the clip includes bunnies and dogs on the beach, but in a totally riot grrrl manner. really.

unfortunately, gordon left the group after a spat with post in 1998 to pursue a critically-acclaimed (but kind of boring) solo career. see what happens when you build up all that tension and don’t follow through?

it’s finally friday, and this week’s flashback isn’t that far in the past. just three summers ago, latina lovelies nina sky — twins natalie and nicole albino — climbed the charts with the reggae-dance smash “move ya body.” that shit was my jam back in ‘04!

after the success of this single, their album failed to produce another hit (though they did appear on that “oye mi canto” song by n.o.r.e.). since then, the girls have been working on their sophomore release with producers like scott storch and cool & dre. the first single, “clothes off,” is slated for a july release. we’ll see if the girls can regain their former (modest) glory.

here’s a great clip for flashback friday, even if it isn’t one to pump you up for the weekend…

it’s been nearly 9 years since lauryn hill topped the charts and swept the grammys with the miseducation of lauryn hill. the best single off that album, in my humble opinion, was a soulful, heartbreaking ballad called “ex-factor.” the video is nearly as gorgeous as the song itself.

lauryn has yet to release a proper studio follow-up to that groundbreaking solo debut, but i can understand why. when something is that brilliant, you might not be able to match it, and lauryn doesn’t seem like one to half-ass it.