Don't Come Around Here Without A Visual

On their own, some songs just don't do it. Sometimes it takes the magic of a music video to make it, at the very least, interesting.

When I first heard Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' song, "Don't Come Around Here No More," I was rather unmoved. Okay, I hated it, and could not for the life of me understand why someone would care to hear it more than once, yet radio stations kept playing it so MANY someones must have liked it. I just was not among those someones.

MTV eased my confusion, however, and I understood the appeal. The Heartbreakers' unusual take on "Alice in Wonderland" was creepy, captivating, amusing, and, let's face it, it complimented the song.

Dokked

Although I have never been much of a fan of hard rock, there are always exceptions. I do enjoy bands such as Twisted Sister, Scorpion, and Def Leopard. I also tend to like just one or two songs from various hard rock bands.

For the most part, music from Dokken is not something I care for, but "In My Dreams" resonated with me and I was disappointed with it's short-lived air time on both the radio and MTV.

I think it's the harmonized voices that grabbed my attention.

P-P-Please Don't!

Some of the fossils from the 80s are better left forgotten and buried under the remains of failed musical experiments. Leave it to me to dredge them back up.

Max Headroom. If you remember the name you will hate me for reminding you.

Max Headroom was a commercial icon for Coca-Cola. He was a computer generated entity (actually he was a guy in a plastic mask whose image was highlighted by computer graphics) who stuttered and wise-cracked from his computer screen. Max became a popular sensation and was even granted his own short-lived TV show.

Synth band, Art Of Noise, thought it would be a good idea to use Max Headroom in a song. I'm sure it sounded like a good idea at the time, just like the time someone said, "Let's make Mr. T cereal!" Hence, "Paranoimia" was born.

Two Nights In Bangkok

Who's into musicals? I do like some musicals. Some are rich in original music from beginning to end. Others, however, tend to have one great song and a bunch of filler songs that unremarkablly sound the same.

Chess tends to fall into the latter category. I have never seen Chess but a friend once lent me the soundtrack on cassette. Other than the famous "One Night In Bangkok" I was given no inspiration to watch the story that went with the music.

The first time I heard "One Night In Bangkok" was a version sung by Robey:



Shortly after Robey graced the airwaves with this hit, Murray Head's version was released and Robey, sadly, was forgotten by many listeners.



Both versions are catchy and fun. Too bad that song is the only awe-inspiring piece in the soundtrack but neither versions can hold up an entire musical. Otherwise, many of you would not be wondering now, "Really? There's a musical called Chess?"

Autumn Chills

I love this time of year. I love autumn and the American Halloween decorations. As far as decorations go, though, I'm not so much into the gory-bloody stuff, like plastic corpses and severed hands. I prefer the spooky and semi-cute stuff like glow-in-the-dark ghosts and battery-operated light-up haunted houses.

But as for videos, I love the creepy-gory every bit as much as the spooky-cute, and you can bet your last shoulder pad that some totally rad creepy videos came from the 80s. Here's a couple of my favorites:






Naturally, this is a very short list of the wonderful and spooky videos from the 1908s. I invite my tubular readers to list your own.

Hart Flutter

When I was in the 8th grade, we had what was called a Culture Fair, similar to a Science Fair, where everyone makes a display project for a grade, except that this was for a Social Studies grade.

I am reminded of Corey Hart's version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" not only because it was famous at that time, but because on the other side of my project, facing the other way, was a project about music and about how modern artists work with older pieces. Mainly, it was about how Corey Hart modernized an Elvis Presley song.

A cassette was playing during the entire fair. Over and over, I listened to Presley's version, then Hart's version, then Presley's, then Hart's, etc. etc...

I am not a bit Elvis fan, but I do like that song, and I do like the other version too. It's just that both versions were hammered into me for a long time after the fair was over. I never wanted to hear that song again.

However, Hart's song turned out to be one of those hits that is famous at the time of release but is then forgotten. Even I forgot it.

In a store today, I overheard someone talking about a Culture Fair and I thought about that song. I've not heard it for over a quarter of a century now and decided to give it an ear. I'm glad I did. It's very pretty and worth listening to it several times, so long as it's not overdone.

Planted 80s Music

Born from the 70s came the 80s. Many artists appeared fresh in their own right as 80s hit-makers, others simply continued their talents from what they started in the 70s.

Then there were some from the 70s who went on to do something different.

Robert Plant is best known for being the lead singer for 70s band Led Zeppelin. After the breakup of the band in 1980, he went on to play in other bands and experiment in solo work. He didn't quite have the flair then that he was famous for in LZ, but I think I like him better as a solo artist.

It could be that I just never went through the experience of being a fan while they were a band, and that often has an impact of how one relates to a band. Actually, I only took some interest in the late 80s when a guy I liked said LZ to be his favorite band.

I have to admit that Plant has talent and can be very pleasing to listen to. I can't say that I am glad that LZ broke up. Perhaps Plant could have continued to make the same music that I liked better with the use of that band. I am glad, however, that he did continue to make music and not simply fall into the cracks of oblivion, the way members of dissolved bands tend to do.

Sailed Close

I love it when a band can step outside of the norm of what all the popular radio stations are playing and boldly release a song that is its own sound.

Enya did just that. Her music falls into the category of the spiritual sound of New Age, which many people reject as "boring." However, her songs rose above the average New Age sound and caught the attention of the mainstream radio stations and fell into the same music hit lists with pop and soft rock.

And she did it with synthesizers and the multiple dubbing of her own voice, making her a one-lady band.

"Now" Gets Better

Wow, how do I even begin this post?

Duran Duran is not only still around but has launched their latest US tour.

And that's not even the coolest part.

They even started their tour in my area so I got to see the freshness of their energy on stage.

Wait, it gets cooler...

Let's back up. It is autumn of the year 2011 and my saving grace of a band from the 80s is still going strong and released a new album, All You Need Is Now, last spring. However, just as they were going to tour to promote the album, lead singer Simon LeBon woke up one morning with no voice.

In all their years of making music and touring the world, this problem never arose before, causing a very sad, but necessary postponement of the tour that was to start in the UK. LeBon went through months of therapy and even surgery. Gradually, his voice came back. The progress of his healing buzzed through the Internet. We all waited, hopeful for a full recovery.

And full it was! This was the third time I've seen the Wild Boys live (my fourth time seeing John Taylor since I saw him in the Power Station when they came to Seattle) and it seems that the passing of a few decades seem nothing to them.

What made this more cool is that they came a few days shy of my anniversary and birthday, so what can be cooler than that?

This:

Remember I wrote about Durandy a couple of times? He has become a good friend of mine so I was happy to spot him outside after the concert. Naturally, he was extremely jazzed up, but I had yet to find out just how much.

His lovely girlfriend was with him and sporting a huge rock on her finger. She was now Durandy's lovely fiancée!

It gets better:

With the help of local radio station, 101.5 (the same station on which I listened to him many years ago), Durandy had things set up ahead of time that they would meet the band before the concert and HELP him to PROPOSE!

Surrounded by the band-mates, a fully-healed LeBon handed Durandy the ring for him to propose with.



Best wishes to you all!

All You Need Is Now!

Weird Beat

Yesterday, I was at the Puayllup Fair, a major annual fair in the state I live in. It holds a stadium that hosts concerts throughout the year, including during the fair. Tickets to get into the fair are separate from tickets to get into the concert, but fair goers can and do listen in on the concerts going on.

In previous years, I have listened to The Steve Miller Band, and have caught a glimpse at The Manhattan Transfer during my visits to the Fair.

This year I listened in on Weird Al Yankovic. What a treat! I had only learned that he was performing there a couple of days earlier and so I could not prepare myself to attend the concert itself, but it was a lot of fun to hear his music live and listen to the audience.

Yes, the audience was a mix of screams of appreciation and roars of laughter. Next time he comes around, I hope to be a part of such an audience!

I vaguely knew of him when he made parodies like "I Like Rocky Road" (from "I Like Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett), and "My Bologna" (from "My Sharona" by The Knack), but, like to many others, he became a famous sensation to me when he dared to parody the King of Pop during his peak.

Michael Jackson was riding high on the success of his Thriller album and nobody could say anything against him without facing a fight. What Yankovic did could have been considered as making fun of Jackson and angered the Pop fans, but, luckily, Jackson fans and non-fans alike saw it for what it is; humorous.

But not only did the song sound very much like the original, but he made his video look very much like Jackson's video, except...

Remembered

Ten years ago, The United States of America woke up and started its day.

Then its world was changed.

That was the day that came to be known simply as 9/11.

We were attacked, many people died, and the way we viewed the world and people around us was changed forever.

There are many theories on who's to blame, whether it was an inside job or from another country, but I would rather keep political stuff out of my blog. What I would like to point out, however, is that whoever is behind that devastating morning should feel immeasurable shame, but one would wonder if they are capable of shame at all.

I find Duran Duran's song, "Do You Believe In Shame?" (from 1989), to be appropriate to tribute to this day. It was written in grief for deceased friends of the band members, but I think it can now speak for the grief and uncertainty that we were plunged into, and also for the strength in the memories that help us to move forward.

Also, the video for "Do You Believe In Shame" was filmed in New York, where many landmarks were cameoed in the background, including the Twin Towers, which can be seen at 3:12.



"I believe a little part of you inside of me will never die."

Jazzin' It Up

I have mentioned country in a previous post as a style of music that is not often thought of when talking of 80s music but has made its appearance in the mainstream of popular listening.

Another one is jazz.

For the most part, I am not a fan of jazz. Much of it, to me, sounds like confused instruments fighting for the spotlight. But, naturally, not all of it sounds that way. There are, indeed, some jazz pieces that can give the mental picture of a hot, smoky, crowded jazz hall feel familiar and cozily intimate. Not that I've ever been to a jazz hall. It's just what I picture in my mind when I hear jazz that's pleasant to me.

One such song comes from the Absolute Beginners soundtrack. I have mentioned before that I thought little of the movie itself but there are some notable songs from the film.

"Have You Ever Had It Blue" by The Style Council makes my knees weak. I love the long intro and the buildup to present a voice that could melt the Hershey's factory with a single song.



There's another song that makes me want to sway in a smoky jazz hall. This one is by George Michael, who is not known for his jazz, but his talent in being versatile with music has managed to smooth it onto the charts like massage oil.



Now excuse me while I melt for a bit...

The Subject at Hand

It's September, so many young student bodies are going back to school to... learn.

However, there can be many distractions to paying attention to the subjects at hand, such as being taught by a cute teacher. It has happened to the best of us.

Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" video shows a bit of what's really on a student's mind sometimes, whether it's what they wish would happen, or that their teacher is, indeed, hot in reality. I find that an unfortunate bit of this video, though, promotes bullying the "weird" kid at school. I'd rather us focus instead on the subject at hand...

Felt-Tip Eyes

Back in the days when pay cable channels was worth it, HBO featured an intriguing music video where it often played cartoons and short films in between featured films.

The video was made cartoon-style animation, but what made this unique was that the frame-by-frame pictures were colored in by felt-tip marker, causing the moving images to change their appearances slightly in each frame.

I have not seen their video on any other music video show so it was cool for me to find it on YouTube after all this time.

The song itself, "Big Brown Eyes" by the dBs has a cool sound to go with it.

They Was Fab

I am a fan of The Beatles, though, sadly, they were no longer a band well before the 80s. However, their influence is prominent in 80s music.

The band members also went on to do their own solo works of art. Here are my favorite pieces from each Beatle.

John Lennon, as we all know, was cut down early in his life and early in the 80s, though his recordings were still released and hitting the charts after his untimely departure.



Paul McCartney, a highly successful singer/songwriter in his own right, contributed some lovely pieces to the music world in the 80s.



George Harrison, often referred to as the "quiet" Beatle, made some fun music in the late 1980s. Sadly, he died in 2001. My favorite song from the album, Cloud Nine, "When We Was Fab" is an especially fun video because of the many guest cameo appearances, including Ringo Starr.



Ringo Starr did some music after The Beatles, but I'm not aware of any hits of his in the 80s. He did do some acting, though. Here's a clip from a delightfully silly film called "Caveman." Not only did cave people invent music, but they had Ringo to make it into Rock n' Roll!

Out of Spotlight

Daryl Hall and John Oats. It's high-time I wrote something about them. They are the kind of music artists that made a big mark in the 80s, but today you don't know who they are unless you actually experienced the 80s, and that's a shame.

They started out in the 70s, making good use of the air waves, and they worked smoothly into the 80s. It's said that the ladies either went for one or the other of the duo and very rarely both. Me, I'm a Daryl gal.

Their music from the album, "Big Bam Boom," is what got my attention. I'm not usually drawn to dance music, but this album was just fun to listen through. My mom got me the cassette when I got my braces. Two of my permanent teeth had been removed for the procedure and the numbing medicine wore off quickly. Hall and Oates was good medicine to get me through.

By the time my braces were off, however, the duo had gone their separate ways to do solo projects that received little attention. Much of the world forgot their existence.

It doesn't matter though. They put their thumb prints on the 1980s and we know they did.

Y'all right?

It's a cool thing when genres of music cross over one another. When one turns on a station of contemporary pop music, one would hardly expect to hear country, but it has been known to happen, and sometimes with awesome results.

Dolly Parton, a known country western singer, has skipped over the boundaries dividing pop and country several times in her career, enchanting the pop airwaves with her delightful southern twang.

One such song that graced those of us who don't listen to much country was "9 to 5." It was the title soundtrack of a film about three secretaries (one of them being Dolly) and a chauvinist pig for a boss.

When I first tried to see the film on HBO as a kid, I watched how the three women got themselves into a pickle, and then I left the room. I was too fearful that these nice ladies would never get out of this mess and I couldn't bear to watch them dig themselves deeper. When it was over, my brother assured me things turned out fine and it was safe to watch the whole thing next time it came on; after all, Dolly Parton was in it.

Ain't nobody gonna lock up that purty country-pop-star singer!

Frame This

There are zillions of 80s-themed radio stations, but many of them tend to forget the J. Geils Band and their fun contributions to the early 80s.

My favorite is "Freeze Frame." I was very into roller rinks as a kid and this song encouraged me to skate as fast as I possibly could; even though it meant mowing a few slow skaters down.

I like the video too, though the members of the band all look like they don't even belong on the same planet, much less in the same band, but they did work well together. I just wish there were more scenes where they were shown playing with paint. Who wouldn't want to be in a blank room armed with a variety of different colored paints?

Watching what?

I am the youngest of three siblings. Naturally, my brothers knew about things before I did. They were watching music videos before I knew what they were about. I didn't know you watched music. You listen to it. TV was for programs. Simple enough.

On weekend nights, they got to watch their big-boy programs, while I went and did my thing because their programs did not interest me.

Sometimes, I would try watching their stuff with them, but I was either too dumb or too smart to get it.

They sometimes watched shows that had nothing except for crazy people with guitars. Yes, I just didn't get it. You could listen to that stuff on the stereo; why waste good television time with music?

One of these times that I sat down to try and understand the appeal of what they were watching, I saw that there was kind of a story mixed in with it.

Then my dad walked in and asked, "What the hell is that?" This meant that there could very well be something to this watching music thing. I watched the whole video. Afterwards, I was left thinking, "What the hell was that?"


That was the beginning...

ZZalagadoola

Everyone likes a Cinderella story; in one form or another. Several music videos have a Cinderella theme, where you have a sweet victim in distress, harassed by badly-dressed jerks, until the band comes along to transform the victim into a jaw-dropping superstar, dissing the tormentors.

In ZZ Top's "Legs," we have the classic story of the cute little lady who is teased and picked on, when her fairy godmother comes in the form of a red Cadzilla...

Rockin' With Mozart

Take a song that hits the charts that focuses on a historical figure and you will suddenly have a zillion teenagers who become "experts" on the subject.

Falco made a song inspired by the film, "Amadeus," with a strange combination of rap, pop, and orchestra.

When "Rock Me Amadeus" became a hit, half the kids around me were suddenly very philosophical about Mozart. The other half said, "You only like Mozart because of that stupid song!"

I won't tell you which side I was on.

Men Working Well

There's a song for everything. Every kind of event, occasion, person, place, thing, and emotion.

Men At Work covered a feeling in "Overkill" that is often felt in many songs but rarely ever described in other songs.

The feeling is, is that at times, life generally sucks. Your mind is full of life's problems, keeping one restless and sleepless. Granted, it's not really a cool thing to sing about. Ok, it bites. However, Men At Work managed to construct a song describing that mood in a way that hits home with a beautiful sadness and stays with you long after it's over.

Few songs, regardless of the content, have that power.

Comedy and the Mysterious

Some videos include both comic and mysterious scenes.

"I Want To Break Free" by Queen has just that mixture. Part of the video has the band members dressed in drag. With dresses, wigs, and jewelry, they made very convincing women. The funniest part was Freddie Mercury. He was a very convincing woman, with delicate hands and shapely legs, as long as you don't happen to notice that damned mustache!

They mysterious part seems to be somewhat of a daydream sequence. Freddie and various dancers are dressed in body suits and performing if various sensual and even erotic scenes presenting eye-candy for anyone regardless of sexual orientation.

The video, in all, is very entertaining and a fine way to remember Freddie in his good health and his dominating presence, which is felt even after he has "Broken Free."

Straight For This Precious Shining

In the mid 80s, the members of Duran Duran split off into different music projects for a while.

Simon, Nick, and Roger formed a band called Arcadia, which had a strange mixture of new age, Goth, and experimental.

One video they made was quite a treat. I love satires, and this particular video, "The Flame," parodies all the clichés that are found in many murder mysteries. What is even more fun is that Simon takes on a striking resemblance to the nerdy Brad Majors from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Nick, who had black hair during most of the Arcadia project, sported striking blond hair for "The Flame." I think he looks a bit like the character, Draco Malfoy, from the Harry Potter films. I like this look a lot. I think it gives him a more mysterious look than he believed his black hair did.

Another tasty tidbit is that John makes a cameo appearance. He's holding a contract. Many people speculate that this was a little jab at Andy, who planned on leaving Duran after the music projects were finished but that there were still some Duran contracts to fulfill.

Roger, sadly, is missing from the Arcadia videos. He became ill from stress and fell away from the whole Duran scene for many years after recording the Arcadia music, but his presence is felt in the obscure shadows of the album.

Gem in the Form of Tears

Somewhere in the midst of Michael Jackson still basking in the glow of his Thriller career, there came a competitor for the soul charts.

Prince came on the scene and wowed young listeners with the Purple Rain soundtrack.

Although I was hardly impressed with his frilly suits and his nasally squeaks that, I suppose, were supposed to be sexy, I was very impressed that he had so many people who liked that crap.

My attitude for him softened a bit when I learned that he contributed a song for the USA for Africa album. I don't have to like a person's singing to appreciate him working for a good cause.

The song he contributed, I was humbled to discover, was sweet and heartfelt. It was the essence of what the whole album was about. To me, it was the only gem in his career but it was such a notable gem that I have since learned to instead of dismissing an artist because of some songs I don't like, I look deeper into the works of the artist before drawing an opinion.

Vampire Enchantment

It has finally happened. My book is finished and published. It's a vampire story set in modern time.

Mist in Power

And what better way to promote it than Sting's haunting Vampire song from his famous album, "Dream of the Blue Turtles"?

Time is Golden

Often times, a band, or a solo singer, who has been around for a while, will make a re-appearance and the latest generation would see it as a brand new band.

Of course that has happened to me on numerous occasions. Not knowing that Slade had been around since the 70s, when they broke through the American charts with "Run Runaway" in 1983, I thought that it was cool that this band of "old guys" was coming into the music scene and sounding great.

It's a good thing when bands stretch from decade to decade and generation to generation. Kids hear for themselves the similarities between the stuff their folks listen to and the latest hits, which both expands the music world, and brings everything together.

That's it? vs. That's it!

Howard Jones. Very plain name but became big in the mid 80s. Jones was own synthesizer one-man-band and he rocked!

When he first started touring, people were excited to see him, but they tended to go home from the concerts a bit underwhelmed. Not that the music wasn't as great live as it was on the radio, for he did a superb job, but it was the show itself. He was it. Just him surrounded by his synthesizers illuminated by some pretty lights. The visual for the "concert experience" was just kind of lacking.

With some extra musicians and backup singers thrown in, Jones' later concerts had the excitement they deserved and the audiences responded most positively.

Europop

While growing up in the 80s, listening to the United States radio, it was easy to forget that rock and pop music is not exclusively made in the North America and the United Kingdom. I have had the pleasure of finding some lovely pieces from other parts of Europe that have sadly been ignored in the states.

Kraftwerk was known for it's electronic sounds. In 1983, they made a song called "Tour de France" about their passion for bicycling. Although the song did well, the moment was bittersweet due to one of the band members, Ralf Hütter, being seriously injured in a cycling accident during recording. He recovered and went right back to biking.



The lovely Lena Lena d'Água was a Portugal sex symbol and pop singer of the late 70s and early 80s. Although her beauty did not make her immune to heroin addiction, her resilience pulled her through rehabilitation.



Boy bands are nothing new, even in The Netherlands. There was a darling band of teen boys called The Shorts who made it big with a hit with "Comment Ca Va" and were never heard from again.

JT

Happy Birthday, John Taylor, my favorite Bassist!

Spot On

Music videos play a large role in how music is advertised. Sometimes the video has nothing to do with the content or the feel of the song. Other times, it can be spot on.

The first time I heard "Love Blonde" by Kim Wilde, without seeing the video, I thought of high heels on a darkened sidewalk. I am so glad that it turns out that the entire feel of the song was included in the content of the video.

Spot on? Yeah, and sexy to boot!

Experiments; the Successful and... uh...

Music is all about experiments. Without them, music would be boring and long forgotten in the archives of history.

Angela Bowie, ex wife of legendary David Bowie, is largely known for her role in music experiments; or rather her being in the background of them. In the beginning of David Bowie's career, she was much of the driving force behind his outfits and his "Ziggy Stardust" look, which he was famous for, secondary to his actual music.

Although their marriage did not end on a happy note, causing many David Bowie fans to scorn her, I, for one, admire her creativity and the beautiful creature that she is.

But back to music experiments; I believe that even the failed ones are an important part of the whole music scene, which is where Angela comes in.

She did some solo stuff. Like I said, I admire her creative side and the role she played during the Ziggy years, but the woman has a voice that can take the paint off the walls. Really, a voice like that should not come from a female... anything; much less a tomboy goddess.

But, like I said, experiments in music are important. Whether we like or hate the outcome has little and everything to do with how it evolves over time. Even the songs that are sung with voices that sound like WTF all play a role in keeping the music experience from extinction.

Where's the Party?

Scarlet Party was a British group who got together to make some profound music. They were noticed largely because their lead singer, Graham Dye, sounded very similar to the late John Lennon. Sadly, they are not well known in America.

In the mid to late 80s, I used to shop at a used record store. There I bought an album from Europe featuring several famous European artists, including Scarlet Party. I was impressed with their song, "Eyes of Ice," and played it to a friend of mine, who asked me if the singer was Julian Lennon. I didn't know but I was pretty certain BOP magazine would have mentioned it if he had.

Because the internet was in its early stages at that time and finding obscure information instantly just didn't happen then, the most we could find out was that Julian Lennon was not involved with Scarlet Party. As for any other information, I had to wait for the invention of sources like YouTube and Wikipedia.

Best Test of Time

Styx is one of the rare gems that stand the test of time. I'm not saying that they're great but there is definitely something to be said about staying power and Styx's ability to achieve it.

They've been around since 1970 (and still going) and managed some decent songs over the years. I say some because many, if not most, of them sound like the lead singer wore his speedo about three sizes too small.

But the some that are decent are certainly notable exceptions. This hit from 1981 is one of my favorites.

Zombies Live Longer

Sometimes a song comes along where the meaning can mean both everything and nothing, while the feel of the song remains constant.

The Hooters made such a song. "All You Zombies" is highly religious and political in content and can mean a lot to someone listening for the meaning, but if the words were mumbled and could not be understood, or if one disagreed with the meaning but simply listened to the song for the feeling of the music, one can still feel a sense of tension, mystery, and hope.

While The Hooters was not considered a religious band, the success of their first hit was unusual due to the religious content. I, for the most part, dislike contemporary "religious" songs. I listened to a lot of it at one time and they (with notable exceptions) tend to sound alike, which takes a lot of the meaning away.

I have enjoyed listening to "All You Zombies" before, during, and after my "religious" phase. It set itself apart from mainstream contemporary religious songs because they dared to sound different, and therefore, the song has lived longer than most songs that are supposed to be "life-giving."

Having Some

There was a movie called Absolute Beginners. Although David Bowie was in it, that did little to salvage a rather crummy film.

The music was good, though. Even though Bowie's contribution to the soundtrack was good, my favorite song from the film was from a different artist.

Party All The... No.

Sometimes an artist, who is talented on one area, reaches out and attempts to try something different in the garden of arts.

Many of them are quite successful and are given due praise for their efforts in more than one field of artistry.

Many others... let's just say it was worth a try.

Then there's others where you wish they didn't.

Eddie Murphy, known in the 80s for the art of his street-talk stand-up humor and his smart-mouthed roles in film, tried his luck with singing.

We say it was worth a try.

He seems to like to pretend that he didn't.

I say, let's not let him forget his mistakes.

Fewbies

There should be a category for all the bands in the music world, so we can be sure that none of the gems are lost in the sea of the old days of MTV, but there is not.

We all know the bands that are known for making many hits. We hear them played all the time, even though the radio stations will only remember one or two songs from these bands.

We are also reminded of the one-hit-wonders. If you can't remember them, VH1 is always more than happy to point them out to us.

But there needs to be a category for the bands that made more than one hit... but not many. Maybe two or three songs made it to the top and gave them a place on the airwaves... only to be forgotten because they have too many songs to be one-hitters and not enough to be considered big-time bands.

I propose we call these bands Fewbies!

Okay, I admit that was lame. I am open to suggestions, though, if you think you can do better! I promise to seriously consider all submissions...

Something To Stay Awake For

Remakes can go one of two ways; GO! or NO!

There are no in-betweens. You can take a song and make it fly or sink. There are many songs that have pleasantly surprised me. Then there are the songs that they were either bad before and improvements are simply impossible, or the original song was good but the new version stank.

Limahl made a very good song in 1984, though quite frankly, when I first heard it, I thought it was sung by a woman, but a good sounding woman at that.

Although I like Limahl's music, I can't say much about his appearance. He looks okay, but what he might think is a sexy and dreamy look with his eyes half-closed, only worried me that he could not stay awake through his own video. One blink and we could lose him to a coma.

However, he made some cool stuff, and The NeverEnding Story (Written for a film with the same name) is one of my favorites.



Most people who know me know that I don't think very highly about most music made after 1990. I think there is a lot of wasted talent and waste that is considered talent.

But, of course, there are some notable exceptions.

The Birthday Massacre, formed in 1999, is a synthrock band from Canada. They made their own version of The NeverEnding Story and I am rather impressed. They added their modern sound without taking the 80s feeling out of it.

They also manage to look like they could stay awake for a production.

What they have is talent and largely underrated talent at that.

A Song by Any Other Name

I have never much cared for my name. Julie is boring. It's about as plain as a highway is gray.

But...

Take that name and mix it into a pop song immortalized by the stardusted voice of David Bowie and it becomes as glamorous as Michael Jackson's sequined glove.

Mind on the Road

Some of the best artists can have some of the most freaking insane pieces of art. The Talking Heads did well in this area. Their songs were rich and full of meaning, though sometimes it can take an altered state of mind to identify any meaning.

It can be strange to think of pop artists to be shy and introverted, but many of them are and they get some of their best ideas from withdrawing from the world to find that inner part of themselves where the insane genius lies.

In 1980, David Bowie was asked about his experience with meeting David Bryne, lead singer of Talking Heads. Bowie described Bryne as a polite but very shy man who looked at the floor a lot. When the interviewer pointed out that, on stage, Bryne was always staring at the ceiling, Bowie quick replied that during a stage performance, the floor is full of people so at those times Bryne looks up instead of down.

So, here is a shy, but brilliant lead singer put to work in a video in which one would need an altered state of mind to even hope to follow...

A Time To Heal

Some really bad things have been happening in the world. I mean really bad; the kind that affects us globally.

A few days ago, Japan suffered the one of the worst known earthquakes in world history, followed by a devastating tsunami, and now radiation leaks from their nuclear plants. I have my doubts that the country will recover in my lifetime.

History has seen a great many bad things, both natural and man-made. Songs that are made for specific disasters are usually timeless and can be sung in light of most other bad things.

Sometimes, they are songs of hope and help. Of course, the best example of this came from the heart of the 80s.



Some songs are not about a specific occurrence, so their messages of reaching out spans over a general audience, who listen and respond.



The people of Japan are resilient and hard-working. One day, they may rise again to the thriving country that they have been known for. Wounds will heal to scars. Desolate wastelands will become busy cities. Nuclear plants that hold radiation will either be earthquake-proof or... (dare I hope?) gotten rid of.

In the meantime, I leave you with a song that has a message that I have always believed in, and that's just to be decent to the next person. A little bit of compassion and kindness can grow, branch out, and stretch out for miles; even as far away as Japan.

Vids From the Street

I love parodies, especially when they're done well, and who could possibly do a better parody than the Sesame Street crew featuring Jim Henson's Muppets?

Sesame Street never missed a fad in music since their premiere in 1969. The 80s, with the help of MTV, was the decade that turned music into a visual thing, so it was only natural that Sesame Street featured music video-like parodies of the latest hits.

For obvious reasons, Madonna never guested on the children's show, especially during the 80s when most moms of that time labeled her a "tramp" and other equally endearing names.

However, her Muppet likeness made the cut, largely because she was created for cuteness, rather than rolling-on-the-floor-showing-off-panties-sexy. Like the real Madonna, Cereal Girl encourages her viewers to try new things, except that the "things" tend to differ between them.



The Muppet band, Over The Top, is the Sesame Street likeness of ZZ Top. It has the same sexy-blusey sound as ZZ Top, but is sadly a one-hit-wonder on the Muppet charts.



On a more fun note, Cindi Lauper's likeness made the cut as well. However, rather than antagonizing her parents by inviting dozens of strangers from the street to party in her bedroom, the Cindi Muppet sings about the social coolness of oral hygiene.



One of my favorites has more of a hard rock sound. Muppet Billy Idle, created after the steamy and spiky Billy Idol, has possibly the sweetest Street video of its time.

The Show is On

Some videos depict a story where the artist is on stage attempting to impress a tough audience. It's fun to see the different ways in which this is done.

Rick Springfield's "Bop Till You Drop" follows a common theme in many 80s sci-fi adventure movies. The dashing hero is dressed in leather, metal, and mesh garb as he helps an oppressed civilization to freedom.

At first he tries it by singing to the oppressor, who is unimpressed and attempts to do away with the mulleted hero, who in return, uses the attempt of his execution to his advantage.



The Eurythmics' "There Must Be an Angel (Playing With My Heart)" has a much different setting. Lovely Annie Lennox is dressed in an angelic costume and is tonight's entertainment for King David Stewart.

At first he is about as unimpressed as Springfield's scaly oppressor, except rather than attempt to shoot lasers at Annie, he simply falls asleep. But he is awakened half way through her number to find that she has added a colorful twist to the show that he likes very much.



Billy Joel's "A Matter of Trust" deals with more of an accidental audience, where people are simply drawn to his music along a crowded street, the one exception being a neighbor yelling at them to "Shut up!"

Healing Steel

There are all kinds of relationships and there are just as many reasons why relationships dissolve. Right now, I am married to a wonderful guy who has filled many voids in my life and I have no reason to leave him.

My first marriage, however, was dissolved because of my husband's meanness towards me. These cases always start with the breaking down of the emotional strengths. That way, when the physical abuse starts, it's often expected and, sadly, accepted and even defended.



It's difficult to get out of toxic relationships. It's not as easy as walking out, especially when children are involved. The beginning of the end often starts when the victim realizes that "this isn't right." Only then can they take steps to distance themselves and hopefully not get killed in the process. (really!)

My story of an abusive past is terribly common. For many people, the abuse is present and has no sign of ending. Victims are also often in denial that something is wrong. Sometimes they know something is wrong but they are ashamed of it and pretend that all is well.



Abuse knows no social class. It knows no race, religion, age, sex, or how one relates to the next person. It cannot be assumed that this or that person is not involved in an abusive situation. Even the superstars are not immune.

Tina Turner is a tough ole' broad with a bigger-than-life voice who rocked the nation in the 60s and 70s with her husband, Ike. It wasn't until later we learned that Ike was beating her bloody on a daily basis during that time and she would meekly apply makeup to cover the bruises so she could sing and make more money for him.

It took a while but something clicked in her and said, "This isn't right!" She took some life-changing chances and managed to escape.



Her story gave me strength. It was one of the many factors that led me to realise that something was not right with my own life and there were some serious changes that needed to happen.

My road has been long and complicated. My ex is severed from my life, but there are still scars, flashbacks, setbacks, and nightmares. Little by little, I have moved past many of the wounds. At times, I can still be very mousy, weepy, indecisive, and shy, but it's because it's who I am and not because of what he made me into. I am who I am IN SPITE of him!

Kiss of Opportunity

I have said in previous posts that I don't care for much hard rock, but as I have also said before, there are some notable exceptions.

Billy Idol is one of those exceptions. He was one who bridged the gap between punk and mainstream rock. People who wouldn't normally listen to a spike-haired punk found themselves begging the radio stations to play his tunes.

Starting in the mid 70s, Idol sang in a band called Generation X before leaving it for a solo carer in the early 80s. In my opinion, he couldn't have made a better choice. Although I like Generation X, there is little doubt that Idol had so much more to offer than what the rest of the band could support.

However, the band did well for getting Idol's foot in the door of opportunity. For that I am grateful.

I Heart You

It's Valentine's Day. Some people celebrate it, some don't.

Some are in between relationships, in which case, the holiday of romance may be a bitter reminder of something gone wrong.



Then there's those who are in a relationship and celebrate Valentine's Day. It's just a fun little reminder for those of us who are in a relationship to do what we're already supposed to be doing, except to just turn things up a notch.



But whether you're in a relationship or not, it's best to be kind to those you care for all year round. It will make people wonder what's wrong with you.

Maximum Big Surprise

Things have taken an incredible turn for me.

Several posts back, I mentioned fellow Duranie, Durandy. Through Facebook, I sought him out and sent him a link to that post. Not only did he respond, but he did so very sweetly and extended an invitation for me to visit his archive!

What a fascinating display of rare pictures and other forms of memorabilia! I felt like a Catholic exploring the sacred Sistine Chapel. I very happily took in the delight of gazing over zillions of pictures of the members of Duran Duran. To the untrained eye, one would say that many of those pictures look the same, but I marveled at the subtle differences in each snapshot.




And Durandy? He seemed to be basking in the glow of my reactions just as much as I was basking in the radiance of his artifacts! He made me feel as important as the very subject of his archive.

Unfortunately, one afternoon gave me only enough time to admire, reflect, and converse over just a tiny fraction of Durandy's grand Duran Duran archive. The time to leave was much too soon. I hope that someday, over the course of many visits, I can have the pleasure of being able to have seen everything.

~~~~~~~SIGH~~~~~~~

Once Upon A...

It's always cool when you find that the people you know have personal links to people who are famous.

I used to belong to a small Episcopal church choir. We were a wonderful group! I have never known a group of people to get on so well together. Sometimes we even stopped goofing off enough to sing a bit.

I became particularly close to a gentleman named Billy Ray. No, not Cyrus. Just Billy Ray. I kind of adopted him as my uncle. Outside of church he played in a band called The Billy Ray Band. They're totally awesome!

It turns out, Billy has had quite a history in the rock n' roll world. One of the many impressive things for me is that he was in a Seattle band called Outlawed in the early 70s. When their guitarist left, he was replaced by a then unknown Steve Lynch. Outlawed disbanded after only a few years.

Steve played in a few bands before finding fame in the band Autograph in the 80s.




Billy Ray hasn't yet found the same kind of fame that Steve Lynch has, but that doesn't make his music any less awesome. http://www.last.fm/music/The+Billy+Ray+Band

Also, if he had become famous, I might not have had the pleasure of knowing him. I'm very glad to know him. He's a heckuva guy!

The Music We Want

For elementary classes, I went to a Catholic school. Yes, ugly uniforms and dress-codes. We didn't have penguins teaching us, though. They were "regular" teachers, but some of them were sweet like the nun in the "Blues Brothers" movie. Some of them were sweet for real too.

Sometimes there were voiced concerns about the music we children listened to. Teachers wondered if there was an essence of sex, drugs, and violence in these songs and were they harmful to our young minds.

Of course, the answer to that was a resounding and unspoken "YES!" by us kids (after all, the songs wouldn't be any fun otherwise,) but it was our call and duty to deny the very presence of anything "unwholesome" in the music and that there were really some very basic and innocent interpretations to the lyrics.

Pleading for the innocence of some songs was not very easy. Ever try and convince a Catholic teacher that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is not Satanic? Or that Huey Lewis and the News' "I Want a New Drug" is really a metaphor for something else? Or that when Billy Idol was singing "Dancing With Myself" he wasn't really... well...

In the end, the arguments were so strong (noisy, really) that they were simply dropped. I don't think the teachers were actually convinced of anything. I just think they knew a losing battle when they saw one. It was apparent that we were going to listen to what we wanted regardless of what was seen as impure. After all, the music the teachers listened to at our age wasn't that terribly innocent, as one bright kid pointed out.

Many of us grew up messed up, but if you want to blame the music, you just found yourself a whipping boy. No, we were messed up in our own individual and special ways and we used music to deal with some of that. More often that not, the "unwholesomeness" in music simply articulated what we were already feeling and it was good for us to know that we weren't alone with our feelings.

New Things

When the 80s started, it really was the dawn of a new era. Music was evolving in ways that was unforeseen but directly descended from the sounds of the 70s.

December 8th, 1980, the music world was shaken by the sudden death of former Beatle, John Lennon. People wondered, "What will happen now?" the same way people will when their world is drastically changed. Naturally, a full Beatles reunion was out of the question, though in 1995, the three surviving Beatles took some old tracks that John recorded in 1977 and used them to record, "Free as a Bird." However, in 1981, people clung fiercely to John Lennon's music, determined to never allow him to be forgotten.

In 1985, people stopped in their tracks to listen so something that they could not believe. It was John Lennons voice, but it was singing something new and unfamiliar. Was this some track he made years ago and now released? The problem with that is that the style was too modern. It was too... 1985ish.

Radio DJs soon assured the listening world that they were not hearing a ghost, but to Julian, the older son of John. With his face and voice, Julian could have passed easily as a younger version of his father.

People begged for the Beatles to get together and have Julian take the place where his father stood. Julian, very diplomatically, rejected the idea. He knew that those were awful large shoes to fill and he really didn't want to try, though he did mention the possibility of doing it once if it were for a charitable cause, but nothing came of that.

He also wanted to pursue his music career in his own right. Although there are some who will say that he only became famous because of his father, that's all bunk. Julian is a good musician and did well by himself.

One Small Flaw

August 1st, 1985, I saw my first concert ever. I went to see Power Station. Upon entering the Seattle Arena, I knew nothing about the opening band, OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.)

Although I was hyped to see my favorite spin-off band, I was not bored or disappointed to have to wait while I watched this other band I was totally unfamiliar with. They were very good.

It was after that night I began hearing their songs on the radio. There were only a few but, what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality. However, the radio stations did not agree with me and did not play OMD music very often.

Then, came 1986. Bad! Bad OMD year! Hiss! Icky!

It was like that for me.

OMD released a song that I did not like. I felt that it was far below their standards and lacking in originality. "If You Leave" left me feeling like I wanted that four minutes of my life back.

So naturally, that's the song that raced up the charts and ALL the radio stations had to play it roughly 500 times an hour. If there is a hell, "If You Leave" would be its theme song. The radio stations forgot all other OMD songs.

Of course, I will not post that song here. If you want to hear it, tune in to any station that plays 80s music. It will be playing. If you wait about an hour, they'll do it again.

Instead, I will post a piece that I believe is a fine example of the talents of OMD.

Fine X 2

Possibly the most dynamic duo of the decade was George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley forming the two-man band, Wham!

They made two kinds of songs; Finger-poppin'-feel-good and weepy sad. They played both very well.

Sadly, Wham! disbanded after only three albums. George Michael went on to do a successful solo career. Andrew Ridgeley went on to race cars, have a not-so-successful solo career, and fade out of sight.

I miss Wham! and wish they would get back together to make more music. Really, would a reunion of two musicians be all that terribly difficult?

Hot Mama

Having a blog covering 80s music is something that can go on forever. There were so many very talented (and some less than "very" talented) artists from one-hit-wonders to the die-hards who stretched their music career over several decades. It's hard to know what to write now and what can wait for a later post.

I sometimes look over my blog and wonder, "Oh, why haven't I already covered such-and-such? He/she/they/it should not be left out if this is ANY blog about 80s music!"

That happened again when I was viewing 80s music on YouTube and came across Pat Benatar. I like her singing because she keeps it simple. Her songs are without much of the sighing, moaning, or other unneeded vocal noises that many artists rely on to make a hit. Pat simply sings a song and keeps it sweet. How can I not have mentioned her already?



Her videos usually show her in very sexy outfits. But in this one, she was pregnant during the filming so she opted for a very casual look.

However, this woman is one of few who could wear maternity overalls and look dang sexy doing so!

It Will Be Forever

The 80s covered a large variety of rock, though not all of them were commonly heard on the radio.

Heavy metal had a difficult time making it into the mainstream airplay. Much of this was because people feared the reputation of the bands being possibly Satanic and promoting evil messages.

Not being a huge fan of heavy metal myself, I don't know how much of it was rumor and how much of it was used for the sake of shock-value. I don't doubt that there was some evil forces behind some of the music, but, to be fair, the same can be said for any other kind of music.

I have a brother who loves heavy metal. Iron Maiden is his breath of fresh air. Iron Maiden was for him what Duran Duran was for me. There were many teen clashes in our household. His room was on one side of the house. Mine on the other. Woe to anyone in the middle of the house who had the fortune to listen to both of our stereos at once.

Not understanding the appeal, I often asked questions about Iron Maiden. My brother assured me that the band is not Satanic nor do the members believe in the occult.

Since he was the Maiden fan, I believe he knew what he was talking about. After all, I have dealt with some self-righteous twits who would scrutinize Duran lyrics and look for reasons to think the band was unwholesome, but I knew better.

Although I still don't understand the appeal for Iron Maiden, I highly respect their gift of longevity and their talent of drawing in new fans throughout their career.

My brother still loves them. He travels around the country to catch concerts and has met the band on occasion. That's amazing devotion that has me impressed.

Fan of a Fan

The music of Duran Duran saw me through my late childhood and teen years. It was a tool to help celebrate the good things and a comfort when things were bad. It was a lot of comfort. I surrounded myself with music, posters, and other artifacts of my teen loves (mostly consisting of DD.)

Then I grew up, got married, and lived happily ever after. Okay, the "got married" part was true. The other two parts are still in the making.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that my first marriage was an abusive one. Being very shy, fearful, and having low self-esteem leading me to believe I couldn't do better than this, I meekly took his berating and allowed him to destroy the things that made me happy. This included my Duran Duran collection.

He let me keep my records, but only because I convinced him that many of them were collectibles and were worth a lot of money, should I sell them someday, but I wasn't allowed to listen to them. The same goes for my DD pins. They were "collectibles" but I couldn't wear them. He never knew about my DD earrings. He once caught me singing a DD song to the baby. The fight after that was worse than P.E. in junior high.

Because he liked the movie Labyrinth, he let me listen to some David Bowie, but he became angry when I tried telling him that DD music is influenced by Bowie and therefore similar. I gave up. DD was to be a thing of the past and I was to focus on the man I married. Period.




Emotionally, spiritually, and mentally, I was worn down to a nub. With the exception of my kids, much of my world was ice.




Seven years later, I reached the point that I had had enough. I grew a pair and kicked his butt out.



I had a new delivery driving job at the time and I tuned in to an 80s station. It was like visiting old friends. They played everything from that beloved decade!

The best part of the station wasn't even the songs, though. There were regular listeners who called in and some of them called regularly. They were a hoot! Regular listeners got to know these callers almost like family.

There was one caller in particular that I seriously could not believe. He called himself Durandy and gave flavorful monologues about his love for Duran Duran. His descriptions of love were beautiful, even sensual.

At first, I was pissed. I thought that he was making fun of Durannies. How dare he! If he didn't like Duran Duran, he didn't need to belittle those who did!

But over time, it became apparent to me that Durandy was for real. His raves for his beloved band were genuine and I found myself appreciating his almost daily calls to the station.

Durandy became a bit of a local celebrity because of his delightful fascination with Duran Duran. His collection of memorabilia surpasses one of an average fan of his/her favorite band. He has a large storage containing posters, books, magazine articles, etc.

Durandy's collection was good for me. Although I have never met Durandy, much less even saw his collection, it was reassuring for me to know that it was possible for one to hold so tightly to a teenage comfort and still move through adulthood. He was not swayed to abandon Duran Duran the way I was. His passion lived through my years of stasis. It was as if he kept the dream alive for me!

I am now close to 40. My passion for Duran Duran is rekindled but not to the level that burned during my teen years. My collection still consists of some records, CDs, pins, and earrings. That is okay, though. I'm happy just to be able to listen to what I want and enjoy the memories of the fire without the fear of getting burned.

Thank You Durandy for keeping a torch lit through the decades. You are an inspiration.

Sweet Fleeting Moments of Airplay

It often happens that a song that I really don't care much for would end up getting a ton of airplay. I am thinking, "Okay, this sucked the first time," while DJs seem unwilling or even incapable of playing SOMETHING else!

Then there's the songs that I hear once and decide that this would be my new favorite song... only to rarely or never ever hear it again.

Very often in the 80s my taste in music went against the flow of the top 10. I failed to see the appeal of some of the most popular artists of the time. I didn't hate them or encourage my friends to dislike them. It's just that a lot of that music left me... blah.

Yes, I know that all the music made a big impact and were all a part of the big picture yadda... yadda... yadda... I can appreciate that part. I just don't care for the part where I'm expected to listen to or like the most popular ones.

But I really liked many of the lesser popular ones. It could be that I wasn't given the chance to get sick of them, but I think, in general, I really did like the songs.

Take Level 42, named after the famous question in 'The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy' by Douglas Adams. They were ok with their hit, "Something About You." Just ok. I didn't hate them... not until about the zillionth time I heard "Something About You." The video was dull and creepy too. It's a strange combination but they somehow managed to pull it off. I think if MTV died, they would play "Something About You" at the funeral until MTV was firmly set and rotting in the ground.

Then MTV aired this little gem:



That was AMAZING! I wanted to hear it to the point of getting sick of it! Too bad I never heard it again until the invention of Youtube.

You might ask why I didn't just get the album. I learned not to get an album just because I like one song. Sometimes a great song is not worth getting a whole album for.

For instance, I loved "The Final Countdown" by Europe, a little-known hair band. I was fascinated with sci-fi stories and this one depicted an intelligent race coming to Earth to take the people away before Armageddon. I thought this was a cool story set to very good music. It got some airplay, but not very much. I went and got the album.



It was cool to hear "The Final Countdown" whenever I wanted, but attached to it were nine more songs that sound almost identical to each other. It was a disappointment to find that the talent extends as far as sounding like one good song.

But, you argue, you could just have just bought the single! Singles to songs that I liked were often just NOT available. I would sift through mountains of disks and find nothing that I couldn't hear several more times on the radio while my little-known wonders would remain elusive to me.

I wasn't completely out of luck, though. I did manage to get some of the singles that I sought. There was a used record store that I frequented and I would thumb through the 45s. With the world turning mainly to CDs, however, it was a lot of hit-and-miss.

When Duran Duran disbanded for a spell and the members took on some different projects, I searched weekly for John Taylor's solo single. The people in the store seemed happy when I found it. Actually, they seemed happier when I bought the record and took my screaming outside.



That's just me, though. Many people liked all the stuff that got repetitive airplay. Many people agreed that there were good reasons why some songs quickly blinked out of sight.

They can be wrong if they want to...

Evil Beats

There are zillions of different songs as there are zillions of different people. Not one person likes all the songs, even if they like a great many.

Some songs just stink. You hear it and decide you must hurt something the next time you have to hear it.

Some songs are bad at first, and then they grow on you.

Some songs are fine at first, but then something happens over time, causing you to not like the song any more. This is usually caused by over-playing it. Radio stations are genuinely guilty of this for they tend to have access to no more than 5 songs at a time.

When I was in junior high, I hated P.E. Being the fat girl gave me every reason to loathe dressing up in a locker room full of young ladies who were developing in all the RIGHT places. Then there was the task of not getting killed by whatever means of torture the sinister P.E. teacher called "sports."

After we were suited up in our places, she would start up the boom box, and we would have to do our daily exercises to the beat of whatever piece of work she deemed fitting for humiliating us. She would play the same song for weeks at a time.

Most of the songs have been blessedly wiped from my memory; all except for two.

This is one that I hated from the start. It's just stupid. If anything, it did give us a good rhythm. I'll admit that I really don't care for most rap, but there are a few exceptions. This is not an exception.



The next one, I thought was okay at first. That was, of course, before it became a tool of torture. It was many years later before I could stand to listen to it again, though I still think of my crummy pink sweats when I do.

Muppet Rock

I have mentioned before that I am a fan of the works of Jim Henson.

As a product of the 70s in the US, I was one of thousands of children who grew up with an assortment of strange characters from Sesame Street and the Muppet Show.

But how does this tie in with 80s music?

The Muppets are not only known for making us laugh, but they are famous for their music. They sang many cover versions and hundreds of Muppet originals. As time changes the styles of music, so the Muppets changed their sound along with it.

Sesame Street has many Muppet "bands" such as their earliest one, Little Jerry and the Monotones. The Muppet Show had Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. It played in all the Muppet Show episodes and is still making new music with their videos finding their way to YouTube. They have covered all styles of rock over the years and are an important part of the American childhood of my generation.

Let's hear it for Dr. Teeth (golden teeth for golden tones), Floyd Pepper, Zoot, Janice, and Animal!

80s is Magic

Can one get closer to looking angelic than Olivia Newton-John? Rarely does such a natural beauty make the big time, and she did so without the use of looking anything other than, well... Natural.

Pair that with a voice to match and you have something close to incredible, which is exactly what she is; something you have to see and hear to believe.

She and ELO complimented each other when they were grouped together for the soundtrack of Xanadu. Never mind that the acting in the film was cheesy, the story forced, and the special effects were painfully low-budget; Xanadu was a treat for the eyes and the ears and a grand opening for the 80s.

Done Taking It

I have never been very much into hard rock but there were definitely some notable exceptions.

I liked Twisted Sister. They sounded good and their videos were funny. That was about it. Other than hearing them on the radio or watching their videos on TV, I didn't bother to buy any of their music or make room on my walls for their images. When the 80s left, and Twisted Sister songs stopped airing, I forgot TS completely.

Fast forward to 2006. I was divorced for five years from a very abusive man who continued to harm the kids so I continued to be at war with him. The kids and I were going through therapy to get over the trauma and the nightmares. I was also finding my inner strengths, many that I was finding through my new husband.

I was driving home one day when a familiar drum rift began on the radio, followed by, "We're not gonna take it, NO! We're not gonna take it!" Finally, 22 years after it's release, this song spoke to me. I was SO DONE with my ex hurting me and this song expressed my feelings exactly!

"Oh you're so condescending
Your goal is neverending
We don't want nothin'
Not a thing from you!"

I found the video on YouTube and showed it to the kids. I did not name any names, I told them that NOBODY had the right to make them feel degraded and Twisted Sister thinks so too, but they knew that this song was everything against what their father was. The song spoke to them too.

Over time, they gained strength and confidence in themselves. Of course, I'm sure TS only played a small factor, but I know that they believed in themselves because there were so many people on their side!

I am grateful that Twisted Sister has taken a stance against domestic abuse. In several of their videos, they depict a scene of an abusive situation, and then the members of Twisted Sister come and save the day. Many artists would not take on this form of activism. Those who do are awesome!



A funny twist to this video is that the dad is played by a wigless Dee Snyder, the lead singer!

Taking the Dice

Once upon a time, my taste in music was rather limited. My mother had a wide range of records that she played daily and I liked some of them. I also heard the latest hits at the roller rink or in the car. But my main source of music was my Disney records.

By the time I was in the fourth grade, I was becoming restless for something more than Disney, so I asked for a radio for my room so I can listen to different tunes at my leisure. With that magic little dial, I found myself a station that played elevator music. Yes, I listened to muzak. I liked listening to familiar tunes that weren't complicated with things like lyrics. Looking back, I wonder if that contributed to my learning disabilities... Or premature graying. Maybe even global warming.

When I was in the fifth grade, everyone in my class became enchanted by a strange creature by the name of Michael Jackson. They brought boom boxes to school to play songs from the "Thriller" album during recess. I had to admit that muzak paled in comparison. Sucked, actually. Taking a gamble that I might be wasting my time with something that I might end up hating, I left the security of the elevator station and turned the dial to KPLZ.

I was suddenly faced with a large jumble of unfamiliar songs and artists that seemed to come from outer space! However, it was exciting. Very exciting! I was determined to listen zealously and make my world a part of it; and possibly the other way around too.

Though I didn't have MTV at the time, there were some shows on the weekends that showed music videos. That was a tremendous help for my familiarizing with the latest hits. I could see the artists, their styles, and watch their cheesy attempts at acting.

So, there I was, listening to my radio and thinking I had it all down when... What was that? What the heck WAS that?!? It didn't sound like the other songs. Was I on the right station? Or perhaps connections were crossed and I was getting signals straight from heaven? Who was that? Would the radio do that again?

The stupid DJ from hell did not identify the artist or the song but went straight on to the next song, leaving me to wonder if what I heard really happened.

The next night, heaven sent signals to my radio again and this time sent an angel as a DJ to tell me that the song was by Duran Duran.

Duran Duran. I had heard of them before. I knew I have heard other songs from them on occasion, but perhaps I heard them before I could distinguish one artist from another? After learning this, I could identify the distinct sound of Duran. It wasn't just Simon's whine of passion, but there was definitely something unique about the way they put music together.

Childish pictures were removed from my walls to make room for posters of five guys who were the new wave in New Wave.

This has been the story of when I was reborn...