Dissatisfied (Dick Diver & Lee Jung Hwa)

It's an afflication: I can't get me no satisfaction. I guess it's the lot of all music obsessives to be continually dissatisfied with the contents of their record boxes and eyeing up the next must-have record.  For example, no sooner had I developed a crush on The Twerps and snapped up their debut lp than a Person of Sound Taste (tm) had recommended Dick Diver and I was left dissatisfied and wanting again.  Of the Dick Diver songs I've listened to so far, "Head Back" is the best.  Alistair McKay's (?) just-woke-up vocals are just tremendous - somewhat redolent of Stephen Pastel circa 1983 - and suit the recumbent The Go-betweens/The Modern Lovers feel of the music to a tee.   All McKay's lazy exhortations to his band members such as"Tell 'em Al", "No, you tell 'em, Rupe" and so on are pure Jonathan Richman (see the "Alright Leroy, tell them" 1min and 16secs into this little masterpiece for a particularly fine example!) and only make me love the song all the more.  Y'know, I'm not going to listen to any more Dick Diver songs online so that I don't spoil my appetite for the record or cd when I do finally buy it.

A similar thing happened a few weeks ago with vintage Korean music. There I was resting on my laurels feeling all chuffed (ok, smug!) with my recently acquired Kim Jung Mi cd- my first foray into the Korean music of the past - when a friend sent me this majestic slice of shimmy pop by Lee Jung Hwa and I was left  counting my pennies to see if I could afford it, too*:

It's like Arthur Russell in his sublime"First Thought, Best Thought" period hooked up with Dionne Warwick to make elegant, swaying supper club soul music live in The Kitchen.  Unbelievably good!

* - It appears on this Light In The Attic cd.