22 years ago this week, Kylie released the 4th single from her Rhythm of Love album. This single was Shocked - and it easily became her 13th consecutive top 10 hit. For me, each single from RoL was an utter triumph. There was the sheer perfection of Better The Devil You Know, the funky disco fun of Step Back In Time & the deliriously brilliant remix of What Do I Have To Do. And while the first of those remains my all time favourite Kylie song, there's something about Shocked (DNA Mix) that I keep coming back to on a regular basis, entertaining me many years after it was first released. Here are some random thoughts about it's continue tremendulence...
- The sex kitten cover ~ Kylie channels Bridget Bardot on the cover, all voluminous hair and body stocking chic. Kylie was getting down with her bad self and I was loving it something sickening...
- The DNA remix - all plinkity plonk house piano, percolating beats and a booming chorus that seemed to accentuate the seductive yet euphoric nature of Kylie's vocal. PLUS! Who can argue with that Jazzy P rap? "Your love hit me in the right spot/cold yesterday but today I'm hot" Brilliant.
- The controversy (part one) ~ ooo, remember when everyone thought the lyrics were "I was f***ed to my very foundations" when they weren't at all? Oh how we gathered round the back of our Mormon church to discuss how daring we were to even listen to such scandalous lyrics sung by someone who made most the young mormon lads cross their legs uncomfortably whilst reciting the articles of faith :)
- The controversy (part 2) ~ oh how the parents (nationwide) were outraged by Kylie's plastic see through mac in the video and her general transformation into all round goddess. By outraged, I'm pretty sure they were just all jealous that their suburban lives were so jolly pedestrian.
- My changing tastes in men matched Kylies ~ It was around this time that I started replacing my posters of the previously (and still obv) lush Jason Donovan with the slightly more menacing and mucky Michael Hutchence. While Jason (in my mind) remained a darn good snog, Michael seemed to have the promise of a rollicking filthy time in the sack :) Delicious :D
- The video ~ the pink tutu! The running around through revolving doors! The fact that you only see Jazzy P through the keyhole! TCopious amounts of snogging! What's not to love?
- Everyone loved it ~ while all my peers at school were pretending to love Blur's There's No Other Way & REM's Shiny Happy People, secretly and not so secretly everyone was really getting down to a bit of Kylie's Shocked. Everyone knew the words anyway when it came on the radio on the school trip to see Les Miserables in London...
- The nose bleeds ~ I once accidentally punched a boy I was trying to impress in the nose to this song while I was flailing about trying to re-enact the dance routine. For shame. We never got together...
- The broken arms ~ Meanwhile, I loved it when Kylie performed this live on her tour in Birmingham that year. Unbeknownst to me, my future hubby was at the same gig and got so drunk on excitement/booze that he fell over outside and broke his arm. Though he didn't realise it until the next day. The goon.
- No fault of Kylie ~ Legal disclaimer: Neither of the two above bullet points are the fault of Miss Minogue and no "where there's blame there's a claim" action will be taken against her :)
- Ultimately, it's just a bloody amazing song, isn't it?
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