MUSIC FROM SPACE: Ben Lee - POP QUEEN

At just 16 and looking a few years younger, Ben Lee was an Australian indie rock prodigy when he recorded this single in 1994. (Click on the picture at left to purchase his debut album Grandpaw Would, which features this song.) The video is adorable with a side order of disturbing, with the shy, Opie-ish Lee meeting and wooing a pretty, rather manic girl from outer space who appears to have a good ten or so Earth years on him. (Perhaps the people of her planet age differently?)

Lee's career would suffer the inevitable growing pains as he aged into an adult and lost his "boy wonder" status. He's now a mature and respected 30-year-old artist, but he's yet to top this quirky little charmer. (This Youtube copy is unfortunately pixelated as all heck, but it's the only version that seems to be floating around on the 'tubes.)

Got a tip for Monsters and Rockets? Want to contribute to the site? Send us an email.

Technocrati tags: [Ben Lee][Pop+Queen][Grandpaw Would]