I Am Thin and Gorgeous ... Sad Nostalgia

I've never forgotten Absolutely Fabulous  ... the show had some of my favorite moments in the 1990s. And I need to thank Jimmy Page -- yes, that Jimmy Page -- for introducing me to it. (It's a long but not interesting story of a friend of a friend of a friend of his ex-wife who got us the tape from the UK long before it aired on US television). So thanks, Jimmy.

And I've never forgotten the Pet Shop Boys' joyous genetic splicing of the show's dialogue with one of their better dance instrumentals.

What I had forgotten was that Junior Vasquez decided in 1997 -- more than a bit past the show's prime -- that we needed a variant on what the Pet Shop Boys had done. To meet what he obviously perceived was a market need, he created "I Am Thin and Gorgeous." The sheer fun of the Pet Shop Boys' take was gone. In its stead, we get a tired children's' song riff at the beginning and some of the less memorable dialogue from the show popping up with massive echoes.

If I were to hear "I Am Thin and Gorgeous" in a club, which I never have, I suspect I'd think the DJ was looking at an Absolutely Fabulous DVD and the sound bled on top of a generic dance track. The Pet Shop Boys' piece worked so well because they treated the dialogue like rhythmic lyrics, not simply randomly chosen dialogue.

Junior has done good work. He will do good work again. "I Am Thin and Gorgeous" really didn't serve well as a dance piece or as a treat for followers of the show. But -- for completists out there -- here are the four  "I Am Thin and Gorgeous" mixes released on CD in the US in 1997.

Download the file and enjoy it. Well, enjoy it for what it is. Password is in the comments.