Dream Academy

A notable one-hit-wonder: The Dream Academy's "Life In a Northern Town."
Really, other than liking the song a lot, there's not much to say about it.

Rhinestone Diapers

Elton John is one of the few unique individuals whose music spans inexhaustibly over the decades. There's no question that his best work was with Bernie Taupin in the 70s, but he definitely had notable work in the 60s, 80s, and later on.

Elton and his partner, David Furnish, have just adopted a baby boy. Needless to say, I am delighted and hope that everything works out for them. After reading interviews of people who have worked with Elton in the past, I have been given the strong impression that Elton can be a bit of a bitch and materialistic. Nothing would give Sir Elton a taste of the receiving end of that like fatherhood.

Good luck to them all!

Lady T

R.I.P. Teena Marie (Lady T)

She was called the Ivory Queen of Soul. When she joined Motown in 1979, her face did not appear on her first album because Motown worried that their black audience would be put off by a white performer. When her face appeared on a later album, her voice was so loved that race was not an issue.



Lady T: March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010

Long Version

Today, tracks have many mixes. There's dance mixes, techno mixes, hip-hop mixes, etc. Many songs have a dozen different versions with slight to massive variations.

80s music, however... You had the one version played on the radio, sometimes a slightly different version on the album, and a live version (listened only to devoted fans who loved that particular song and happily put up with the concert noise.)

And then there was the long or "extended" version.

This is when the artist would take their latest hit and stretch it our long enough to fill an entire side of a 12 inch LP. This was heaven for those who loved music stretching as long as they could go. To others, it was like listening to ten minutes of the Greatest Hits of Yoko Ono.

Duran Duran fans swooned with excitement when the epic hit, "The Reflex," was extended. Really, one cannot say "Ta-na-na-na-na-na" enough.



Billy Idol was not satisfied with calling his remixed hit, "To Be A Lover," extended. This is the "Mother of Mercy" version. Works for me!

Born... where?

I love parodies. Although Weird Al Yankovic is the King of Song Parodies and I love his music to pieces, Cheech Marin's little remake of Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" is definitely one of my favorites.

Ban This!

Controversy anyone? Any attention, even negative attention, can be the best thing to happen to an artist's career.

When George Michael left Wham! for a solo career, he started it off with the infamously titled "I Want Your Sex."

The song itself is rather bland but the juicy title caused such outrage that many radio stations (both US and UK) banned it. George Michael's solo career soared! Everyone wanted to buy a copy of it because simply because of it being called "immoral."



I'll be publishing a book soon. For the record, it's immoral and should be banned. Tell everyone about this outrage.

Lights Out...

Last night there was a power outage in my neighborhood. It was very dark. So what does one do?

Dance to a little Peter Wolf...

Dreams Have Frozen Crystal In The Morning

It's December, a time when we hear the usual holiday music playing; about 300 artists singing their own versions of the wide variety of 7 or 8 songs that are either about baby Jesus, Santa, or winter.

I'm one of those odd individuals who, once in a while, would like to hear a different song concerning the season.

This is a beautiful and mournful song by Duran Duran (video is fan-made) that gives the feel of a dead and frozen world, though I remember reading an interview from one of the band members that it's largely about the sadness of baby Jesus growing up to face dark times and death and of the helplessness his mother must have felt.




Yes, I know of the "happy" ending, but Duran Duran keeps the story real with "Winter Marches On" by reminding us of the sad details that are frozen in time.

Talk...

Sometimes a good video has nothing to do with the song but contains something cool to look at. This little gem from Talk Talk has animals.

This song was covered by No Doubt in 2003 but I do like the original better.

The More Things Stay the Same

No matter what era you are talking about, stuff goes on that can cause one to say, "These are scary times."

There are scary things going on today; political stuff, crimes against humanity, international unrest. These things are also nothing new, yet there are modern songs that describe the fears of what is going on in the world now. Using music to express concerns in the world we live in is also as old as politics.

The 80s was no different. We were scared of going to war with the Soviet Union and burning to death in a nuclear war. Although, the "enemy" has since shifted to the Middle East, the message of the songs are timeless.

Take "Russians," from Sting, for example. We are of the same race, but when we are taught to fear a group of people, they become inhuman to us and it's difficult to think of them as creatures who love their children the same way we love ours.



People's faith in today's government is very shaky, but people's faith in the government has always been shaky, regardless of the face or the party.



The idea of going to war is scary and war itself usually has little to do with the good of the people, but the profit of the rich politicians. Who gets hurt the worst? Our future generation.



Many people are all for war, but that's usually before they get into the think of it. When they see how bad it really is, it can't be undone. You can't say, "Oopsy!" and make it all better.



Looking at today's politics, tragedies, and hopes, how we feel about the world we live in is no different from 30 years ago. Back then we asked if there was a future. The future is now but the question is still the same.

Catch Me I'm Fireflies

A couple of years ago, my daughter absolutely could not get enough of listening to a song called "Fireflies" by a musical project called "Owl City."

I listened to it with her. It is definitely catchy and I liked it too; however the more I listened to it, the more retro it sounded. I knew that "Fireflies" wasn't a rip-off from an older song, but I recognized the familiar 80s feel.

I wondered aloud if there was a Duran Duran influence? Perhaps INXS or The Pet Shop Boys? My daughter wouldn't hear of it! This was a modern song and she didn't want me ruining it for her with my talk of it not being entirely original. But, to me, the synthesizer and bits of distorted voice sounded so out of place on today's radio. It occurred to me that it had somewhat of the same feel of "Catch Me I'm Falling" from Real Life (from 1983) as if the two songs could have come from the same source.



After finding and listening to "Catch Me," I searched and found the music video for "Fireflies." In the video is an assortment of toys made in the 70s and 80s. This leads me to believe that the 80s feel of the song was deliberate and a likely tribute to the sound of my generation.

My daughter refuses to see a connection. She also says I'm weird for saying "Fireflies" sounds retro. Of course I'm weird but I don't see a connection with that and the retro thing.
Either way, here's Owl City and their very 80s-sounding "Fireflies." Perhaps YOU might see a connection...

80s Music Still Makes Me Smile

Hi. My name is Julie and I'm a Duranie.

The 80s was a fun time for music. Making a hit didn't require knowing how to play an instrument (though it sometimes helped) but there was so much room on the canvas of pop-culture for originality, freshness, and plain weirdness that just somehow worked.

Although I did not closely follow fashion trends, watch every movie, or even talk valley-girl, the 80s molded my very being. My nightly friend was KPLZ 101.5 FM. BOP and Tiger Beat magazines supplied me with wallpaper adorned with sultry eyes that watched me put on neon pink socks and pour peroxide in my hair. My headphones crooned me to sleep at night with Duran Duran, David Bowie, or Billy Idol cranked up all the way.

However, I have since grown up. 101.5 usually plays unfamiliar stuff. John Taylor's bedroom eyes are no longer in my bedroom. I wear boring socks. Peroxide is used for medical purposes only. My ears stay uncovered in case the kids should need me in the night. But I still have my picture disks!

In spite of my removal from childhood, I still like the music. I have all sorts of bits of 80s music trivia memorized. After listening to a few seconds of an 80s song on an "oldies" station I can usually identify the song and artist. My husband seems impressed with my odd storage of information.

This blog is largely about my fascination with the 80s era, how it affected me, and how my ideas and beliefs evolved. Those who find my posts interesting might still own a picture disk or two themselves.