Roxette has card #93 in the 1991 MusiCards set. They'll make a return appearance with a card in series 2, plus they've got three cards in the UK edition. I'd say this card here is another rare occurrence where the photo fits ok with the unwieldy border design.
That's an interesting quote, though a little strange to fill up the blurb. I don't remember "Dressed For Success" being the hit that the card claims, but "Listen To Your Heart" was huge, as was "It Must Have Been Love" from the Pretty Woman soundtrack. I got a bit tired of those couple songs getting played so much, but liked Roxette overall.
After hearing "The Look" a few times in '89 and really liking it, I used some allowance money to buy Look Sharp! on cassette and listened to it a bunch back then. I still give the album a spin every so often and would put it right there with Forever Your Girl as an enduring personal favorite from my stint as a kid at the time listening to pop music. (Hesitating to use the term "guilty pleasure".)
By the time the follow-up album Joyride came out in 1991, my musical interests had shifted mostly to alternative rock, though I did kinda like the cheesy/catchy title-track.
They didn't get much attention in the US after that album, but the duo was active on-and-off over the years with scattered releases and live performances until Marie Fredriksson sadly lost her fight with brain cancer in 2019. The guy, Per Gessle, has been keeping the name Roxette alive by sharing rare tracks and the like, recently bringing in another Swedish singer, Lena Philipsson, for incarnation 2.0 of Roxette as an active act, with some touring planned for 2025.
For further information, there's a pretty massive Wikipedia entry for Roxette. We'll revisit when we get to their card in series 2, but that's probably enough for now.
CUSTOM CORNER
I figured I'd pair up Roxette with another musical favorite boy+girl dynamic of mine.
Rilo Kiley has been a huge part of my life, as far as bands go. I've already written about them a few times on my baseball card blog, showing off some autographs and stuff while talking about how I got into the band, so I won't rehash it too much here, but the short version is they were my favorite band of the 00s (or maybe second only to Neutral Milk Hotel) and I ended up meeting my wife through our mutual appreciation.
Quick bio: Former child actors Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennett started playing music together in the late 90s, filling out the band with Pierre "Duke" de Reeder and drummer Dave Rock (later replaced by Jason Boesel). They put out a few CDs and eventually signed with Warner Bros. for their major-label debut which turned out to be their swansong. Jenny Lewis has gone on to modest success as a solo artist, while Blake has kept busy and done some producing.
But yeah, they were a fun band in the aughts to follow and be a part of their fanbase (I was a moderator on their main fan forum, which was pretty hoppin' for a few years there). I had a lot of fun attending their So. Cal shows (I think I saw them 8 times) and-- in addition to meeting my wife-- made a lot of friends in that community, some of which are still online pals today.
How about you readers? Ever listen much to either Roxette or Rilo Kiley? Feel free to let me know in the comments and thanks for stopping by.
I liked Roxette well enough, it's one of those bands I don't know how you could dislike, everything is so catchy. "Dressed for Success" was the follow up to their break-out, "The Look". It was on the radio in the summer of 1989.
ReplyDeleteWas a fan of Rilo Kiley although I discovered them pretty late, almost as they were breaking up. I like Jenny Lewis' solo stuff but I miss Rilo Kiley.
I do like Roxette, at least the uptempo stuff...the ballads don't do a lot for me. "Joyride" is probably my favorite, and for a number one hit to me it doesn't get played enough these days, unless I'm in Singapore where the classic hits station plays it a lot. I also like "Church Of Your Heart" and "How Do You Do".
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard a lot from Rilo Kiley but they seem to be pretty good. As a child actor Jenny Lewis was in two of my very favorite short-lived shows: she was Jamey Sheridan's daughter on the wonderful legal drama Shannon's Deal, which I'd really like to see again, and then was the young protagonist's Gentile friend/love interest on the heartwarming sitcom Brooklyn Bridge.
Can't say I'm a big fan of Roxette... but the fact that I know enough lyrics of their hits means I listened to them enough on MTV or the radio back in the day. As for Rilo Kiley... not familiar with them. Pretty cool that you and your wife connected over them though.
ReplyDeleteI've only ever heard of Rilo Kiley through your posts. I can tell just by looking at them that they're music isn't something that I'd enjoy (and yes, I'm judging a book by its cover).
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