Monaco "What Do You Want From Me?"
(Song Removed)

Ah, Monaco, side-project of Peter Hook, a.k.a. favorite bassist of yours truly and probably every bass player in every band-of-this-moment, and David Potts, who previously worked with Hooky in Revenge. Wikipedia notes in the Hooky entry that Monaco scored an "alternative-radio hit" with this number. I can't remember ever hearing "What Do You Want From Me?" on the radio. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I thought 1997 was the year of milking dead cows (i.e. Sublime, Biggie, Tupac) and it was also the year wherein I described 99.9% of the new adds at KXLU as whinecore, which should be testament to the sorry state of college radio at the time. However, "What Do You Want From Me?" was a big hit at Cafe Bleu, which was thee club in 1997. It was also a big enough hit to transfer over to Bang! when it opened in 2000. In fact, I played "What Do You Want From Me?" nearly every week at Bang! until I left in mid-2003. IMHO, the success of "What Do You Want From Me?" can be credited to the "sha-la-la" bits. Sure, it's a dead-ringer for a New Order track, which automatically makes it hit-worthy, but "sha-la-la" bits can elevate any already-swell song to pop perfection.

Monaco "Sweet Lips"
(Song Removed)

Speaking of inate New Order-ness, doesn't this song, also taken from Monaco's first album, sound just like "World in Motion." The similarity to New Order's World Cup anthem is about as close as I'll ever get to World Cup mania. I try to get into the whole soccer thing, but the truth is that I'm not a sporty type of person and, if it isn't NCAA basketball, I probably just don't care.

As for the album overall, Music for Pleasure is about as late-1990s as it gets. There are loads of tranciness sneaking through the songs and numbers like "Buzz Gum," that ride the Oasis train. Mostly, you will want it for the aforementioned single. Used copies available on Amazon.