Pop Goes My MP3

Music and Lyrics won’t be getting anywhere near the Oscars, but it’s totally worth seeing just to see this video on the big screen. In it, Hugh Grant plays an eighties heart-throb, one of two front-men for the wildly popular band POP, singing their hit single Pop Goes My Heart. The parody of early eighties pop videos is spot-on, from the George Michael-inspired white pants to the Spandau Ballet-inspired lyrics. There’s the obligatory hospital scene, a montage set against a sunset, and lots of dancing and happy prancing. I loved it at the theater, and I find myself oddly drawn to it on You-Tube. Despite this movie’s tepid reviews, the scenes in which Hugh Grant gets to shine are hilarious. And now I can’t get the song out of my head.

Speaking of MP3, I’ve finally put together the playlist for my new novel, San Francisco Chronicle bestseller THE YEAR OF FOG. See it here on largehearted boy. It’s a mostly moody, San Francisco-centric mix, including Wilco, Beautiful South, Walty, Chris Isaak, Yo La Tengo, Laura Cantrell, and others.