I'll cop to it - I watch American Idol here and there. I mean, it's not like there's any aggressive counter-programming going on, and I can only watch my Kath & Kim DVDs so many times. But each time one of the female contestants gets up to screech and wail (Hey! If you get near a melody, sing it! ), I can't help but time travel in my mind back to 1981 and think that a 17-year old Rachel Sweet would absolutely demolish them all. [...]
This week's hottest reissue has to be Nina Hagen's 1983 classic "Fearless", coming to CD for the very first time. "Classic" in the sense that very few other batshit crazy, UFO-believing, Teutonic punk-rock goddesses have matched it. "Fearless" was Nina's second full-length English album, this one produced by Giorgio Moroder and Billy Idol/Simple Minds producer Keith Forsey. Wrapping Hagen's alternately hiccup-y and operatic vocals with early hip-hop and dance beats did the trick quite nicely, as single "New York New York" got Miss Freak on MTV and in hipper dance clubs everywhere. The [...]
So close, yet so far. The story of the Family is one of missed opportunites boiled down to its most basic - Good Decisions vs. Bad Decisions. Let's start at the beginning - after Morris Day left The Time in 1984, Prince tapped "St. Paul" Peterson as his replacement, causing guitarist Jesse Johnson to hit the road as well. Left with a drummer, a bass player and a valet ("Now, now, Jerome!"), Prince had Revolution guitarist Wendy's sister, Susannah Melvoin join the band, and rounded out the strange quintet with saxophonist Eric Leeds. [...]
Nasty Skank Alert! I think the people at the late, much lamented BlairMag (linked above) summed up best what was so damn appealing about a trio of barely-talented girls in their underwear, dancing slightly out of time. While Vanity 6 (renamed from their original moniker The Hookers in a rare case of Princely restraint) were ostensibly built around Vanity aka Denise Matthews, it was white trash dynamo Brenda who stole the show, along with your wallet. And your heart! I mean, take Brenda's starring turn in [...]
Read my thoughts on the passing of the other John Hughes at Popdose .
The post title says it all, doesn't it? Will your favorite purple protege be featured? Stick around all week and see. Kicking things off is Miss Escovedo, who Prince discovered in 1983 playing in her father's latin-fusion band Azteca. The tiny terror promptly put Sheila to work, having her provide the guest vocals on his classic b-side "Erotic City" ( not Vanity nor Apollonia, as is commonly mistaken). A short year later, Sheila had a contract with Warner Brothers and a Top Ten hit with her debut album's title track, "The [...]
Is Billy Squier gay? I ask not because it matters in any way, (I mean, really, it is 2009), but because I swear I read/saw an interview with him about five or six years ago where he quietly came out, and now I'm unable to find any evidence of such. So I just want to make sure I'm not going completely senile just yet. I mean if he isn't, that's okay. I won't reject him or love him any less. After all, this is the guy who gave us [...]
Ah, Stacey Swain aka Stacey Q aka sweet, innocent "Cinnamon" from "The Facts of Life". Not so innocent, are we? Oh, I know alllll your dirty little secrets, missy. But let's start at the beginning. Stacey's singing career started when she joined the synthpop outfit known only as Q, after the James Bond villain weapons specialist (D'oh! Thanks, folks!) . Q also featured synthpop icon Jon St. James, who produced quite a few memorable tracks for other synthpoppers, including Anything Box. [...]
Let's start this off by Snopesing what I believe to be apocryphal - just about every overview about Alphaville I read says something to the effect that "Forever Young" was the prom theme at high schools nationwide in the 80s. In fact, "Forever Young's" review on AllMusic.com says, "'Forever Young,' a stark, epic song that would become essential for every post-1984 high school graduation..." blah blah, etc., etc. I'm calling bullshit on this urban myth. No one in the 80s had Alphaville's "Forever Young" as their prom theme. [...]
Hi, kids! Little lesson in prevention today. This is your brain: Alain Jourgensen, 1983 And this is your drain on brugs: Alain Jourgensen, 2006 Any questions? Okay, okay, put all your hands down. We'll get to you each, one at a time. For all our advanced students who have covered this, please be patient and feel free to add to the discussion. [...]
Does anyone else change their facial expression as they write? Let me explain. Y'see, I can't hide my feelings when I'm writing. If I'm typing away some angry screed, my brow furrows, my lips downturn and my expression matches what's flowing from my fingers. People walk by my office, peek inside and say things like, "Is everything okay? You look really mad." "No, just writing!" Let's just say I suck at poker. I bring this up because right now I have a big goofy grin on my face because [...]
Pop's road is littered with the remains of artists who unsuccessfully attempted the transition from "quirky" and "fun" to "mature" - Toni Basil, Altered Images, and sadly, one of the most talented performers of the '80s, Cyndi Lauper. After two huge albums, a hefty number of Top Ten singles, and countless videos co-starring her manager/boyfriend, her mom and wrestling manager Captain Lou Albano, Lauper tried to jettison most of her image idiosyncrasies with her third album, A Night To Remember . Gone were the Rock & Wrestling connection, the extreme [...]
One of the more out of left field musical directions pop took in the early '80s was, of all things, a rockabilly revival, most notably led by the Stray Cats. As distinctly American as this sound was, the Cats had to go overseas to the U.K. to get noticed, then broke thru in the States a couple of years later. This little sub-genre had a few more players, including the Polecats and my favorite, Roman Holliday (two L's, please). Roman Holliday set themselves apart from the rest of the rockabilly [...]
The Cars were in a peculiar position in 1987. After the huge success of Heartbeat City and some lesser success with various solo outlets, the band regrouped to work on a new album. Judging from the results, one could assume the band was torn between going back to basics or just throwing in the towel to give the people what they wanted, or assumed, from a Cars album. Door To Door is a strange beast - the first single, "You Are The Girl", was a shameless rewrite of "Tonight She Comes", a big [...]
So of all the Cars solo projects (I haven't forgotten Greg Hawkes' 1983 effort - but it's mostly instrumental), whose do you think was the most successful? You'd think the main vocalist and songwriter, Ric Ocasek's, right? Wellllll...yeah. While Ric's first stab at non-Cars success stumbled out of the gate, his second solo release, 1986's This Side of Paradise scored a #15 hit with "Emotion In Motion". But that same year, Benjamin Orr, Cars bassist and other vocalist (he sang "Drive" and "Just What I Needed" among others, 'membz?) released his [...]
So, we've established that between writing every single Cars song (with rare exceptions of collaborations with keyboardist Greg Hawkes) and releasing a solo album that Ric Ocasek was very much the creative force behind the band. So who exactly was clamoring for solo projects from the other members? Whether the public wanted them or not, every non-Ric Cars member with the exception of drummer David Robinson put out a solo disc in the 80s. And why not? The band had built up plenty of exposure and goodwill by 1985, with Heartbeat City putting [...]
After relative public indifference towards Panorama's experimentation (while the album peaked at a respectable #5, it failed to chart a single any higher than #37), The Cars regrouped and retreated back to fizzy New Wave pop with 1981's Shake It Up , arguably the most calculated and least essential Cars album (yes, I'm counting Heartbeat City and Door To Door in making those pronouncements). For every crowning achievement like "Since You're Gone" or "Cruiser", there were kiss-ass concessions to Top 40 radio (title track, anyone?) and just plain filler ("Maybe Baby"). [...]
While this shambles its way across the country, embarrassing itself in half-empty sheds nationwide (as Molly Shannon's Marcy Darcy would say, "Don't even get me started!"), what better time to devote a week to the real Cars, the New Wave darlings who didn't necessarily want to be New Wave. This week, we'll focus on the band's lost gems, alongside some lost solo projects along the way. Why not begin with my favorite Cars album, Panorama ? The Cars' third album was [...]
Did someone mention Paul Young? Oh yeah, I did. Paul Young was one of the new crop of British blue-eyed soul acts that sprouted up like crabgrass in the early-to-mid 80s, like Simply Red's Mick Hucknall, Alison Moyet (post-Yaz), and yes, Climie/Fisher. While Young had a fairly high profile at the beginning of his career in the UK, thanks to his association with his second band, The Q-Tips, he had a tougher road making waves in the States. His first US single, the Marvin Gaye remake "Wherever I [...]
Was marrying Heather Mills the most embarassing thing Paul McCartney ever did? Unfortunately, no. And this didn't help matters any: So, is that the most cringe-inducing "Wacky Celebrity Cameo" video ever? Or is it the Paul Simon one with Steve Martin and repeat offender Chevy imitating MC Hammer? "Spies Like Us" peaked at #7 (ye Gods!) on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. Chevy Chase recently played a batshit crazy screaming Jew-hater on "Law & Order". Dan Aykroyd married beyond his station [...]
Lost in the '80s
Willow Beats: Top 5 experimental tracks
Living In A Magazine
Report: Aaron Hernandez directly tied to North Attleboro homicide
