Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
“Under Pressure” would have made for an awesome finale, but alas, there was a little more tape remaining, so we get what’s likely an anticlimax. This reached #17 in early 77; it sprung out of a British commercial for, well, jeans. Consider it a fun chaser; maybe a song that’s in part about getting out and about is what I need, anyway.
I have another, shorter series of posts about another tape that I expect to post here in the not-so-distant future, and plenty of other tapes/songs over which to reminisce; consider yourself warned!
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
Yes, there’s the memorable, sample-able bass line, but what is it that makes this song so great? On one hand it has the combination of two amazing and iconic voices, but on the other there’s nothing much in the way of melody. For me, its greatness lies in the passionate deliveries of the climax, starting with Freddie’s “Can’t we give ourselves one more chance?” and running through David’s “This is ourselves…” Made #29 in early 82.
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
I often say to myself that this (#31, Spring 84) is among my 10 favorite singles from the 80s, but until recently I hadn’t bothered to think much about what the other 9 might be. This is how I’d fill it out today; might be different if I did it some other time. In chronological order:
Ah! Leah!–Donnie Iris
Do You Believe in Love–Huey Lewis and the News
867-5309/Jenny–Tommy Tutone
Someday, Someway–Marshall Crenshaw
Back on the Chain Gang–Pretenders
I Melt With You–Modern English
It’s My Life–Talk Talk
Coming Up Close–‘Til Tuesday
Don’t Dream It’s Over–Crowded House
Luka–Suzanne Vega
I’m happy enough that No Doubt scored success with its cover, but seriously, it can’t compare to the original.
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
I really dug ELO in the late 70s; their 76 release A New World Record was another of the few albums I owned in high school, and it’s a classic. This was the second 45 from it, reaching #24 in Spring 77. It originally scored as a single by The Move, Jeff Lynne’s previous band (#93, late 72).
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
One of my favorite AOR songs in summer 81 was this band’s “No Turning Back.” This one comes from an EP they released the following year. They’re from Australia and were originally named Sherbet.
My worst segue was the one leading into this song; I didn’t fade Rod quite quickly enough, and a note or two of “You’re In My Heart” creeps in after this has already begun.
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
I’d like to be able to tell you that this was included at least semi-ironically, but… Like I said earlier, disco was close to untouchable in 85, but I maintained a soft spot for this one. Clearly a ridiculous work, but also pretty darn catchy.
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
One of EC’s two US top 40 hits (this got to #36 in Fall 83; “Veronica” reached #19 in 89). The extended metaphor of love-as-a-literary-work completely rocks the house. I don’t recall seeing this video on MTV during my heavy-watching period; I think I would have remembered the Chuck-and-Di doppelgängers.
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
This is the seventh and final female leading voice to appear. I liked plenty of music sung by women in my high school and college days, but my interest in female vocalists greatly escalated while in grad school: it was then that I discovered Suzanne Vega, Kate Bush, Toni Childs, Tracy Chapman, Jane Siberry, Sinead O’Connor, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, Natalie Merchant, Basia, Marti Jones, Indigo Girls, Tori Amos, Carlene Carter, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lucinda Williams, and Kirsty MacColl, among others. (This has continued to a reasonable extent, with relatively recent interest in female singers such as Regina Spektor, Neko Case, and the sisters Söderberg in First Aid Kit.) I even made a mix tape solely with songs by female artists/singers around 88-89 (still have it, James?).
In many ways, though, I wonder if Aimee Mann might be the best of them all. Even though I liked this song very much in real time, the vocals now sound thin and not entirely in tune. Her growth as a songwriter and singer was noticeable on the second and third ‘Til Tuesday albums, and she kept right on through the next 20+ years in her solo work. I would have been plenty surprised if in 1985 you’d told me that she was the one whose new releases I was still buying 30 years later.
Note: This series originally appeared on Facebook in a slightly different form, Aug-Sept 16.
The fashion in the video SCREAMS 1984. My sense is this one has been pretty much forgotten (it was #38 for three weeks in July), but I still like it. They were from Bahs-ten; another Beantown-based band shows up tomorrow.
On a note that’s interesting only to me, the segues leading into and out of this song are the two best on these tapes.
The Music of My Life 