Embarrassing Dad Songs #2: Boone

No, nothing to do with Michael Elphick. He didn't have an E on the end.

I briefly mentioned Benson Boone as a discovery at the end of last year, after Sam had got me listening to his mega-hit Beautiful Things.

Since then, I've checked him out a bit more. History tells us that he was briefly a competitor on American Idol back in 2021 (although that doesn't carry the same stigma it would over here) before he voluntarily withdrew from the show (respect!) and further went on to build a career on TikTok. 

Now that's a stumbling block for me, because I'm with the Australian government in considering TikTok a thing of pure evil... but I suppose artists these days have to wade through whatever sewer it takes to make their mark.

Various sources make lazy comparisons between Benson and Freddie Mercury, based largely on his extravagant performing style, the fact that he's taken to sporting a moustache, and his rather impressive cover of Bohemian Rhapsody, with Anita Dobson's hubby on guitar. But don't let that put you off, Queen-haters out there. Benson's really just a pop star in the old style (80s, mostly), of which I'm starting to see something of a resurgence these days. And he's only 23, so imagine what he might do when he grows up proper.

It's got a good beat, you can really dance to it.

Embarrassing Dad Songs #1: Messy

Back in the days when The Mary Whitehouse Experience was the best thing on telly, Hugh Dennis had a character called Embarrassing Dad. The main thing I remember  is that he'd try desperately to like his kids' music, with the catchphrase "It's got a good beat, you can really dance to it."

I realise now that I have become Embarrassing Dad, because Sam keeps introducing me to a wealth of current pop music... and some of it, I actually quite like. With the obvious caveat that all true pop music is made primarily for teenagers, so I'll never get it in the way Sam does, or in the same way that I dig the new album by James McMurtry.

Anyway, in lieu of anything better to write about, here's a new series in which I share some of the music Sam has introduced me to... starting with this "80s inspired ADHD anthem" from British singer-songwriter Lola Young. I'm convinced Sam only likes it because it shares its name with a famous footballer.

Be warned, there's a lot of swears in the version on youtube. The radio edit (which I'm hoping is the one Sam prefers) substitutes the f-word for damn, which seems rather quaint and old fashioned. In the modern world.

It's got a good beat, you can really dance to it.