7 March 2013 - New Order - Blue Monday

New Order's Blue Monday is 30 years old today. Now carry on feeling really old.

6 March 2013 - Don Henley - All She Wants To Do Is Dance

I can't f&*king stand The Eagles

You've heard me say statements like this quite frequently.

Well, this song, from 1985, the 2nd single from his Building the Perfect Beast album - the first being the dull "The Boys of Summer" - is about as far from the Eagles that Don Henley could have come. Unlike the washed-out folk-rock of the Eagles, this song has some serious soul.  SERIOUS soul.  The horns and killer keytar hook - yes, KEYTAR hook - drive this hard-pumping song forward.  Henley's voice, with slight falsetto and terrific range, is well-suited for this energetic tune.

But this song is more than a soulful romp.  Remove the phrase "and all she wants to do is dance" from the verses. You've got a song clearly inspired by the tales of the Reagan-era Sandinistas in Central America.  Put those words back in.  You've got a much different song.

The video itself is really busy and absolutely brilliant.  It's almost reminiscent of the Cantina band from Star Wars, with a South American bunker feel.

 

5 March 2013 - Passion Pit - Take A Walk

I recently picked up Passion Pit's Gossamer record on a $2.99 whim at Amazon. I had their previous album and remembered that I didn't hate it (a ringing endorsement . . . I know), so I decided to give the new one a shot. I finally had some time last night to check out some music from my "need to listen to stack" (which sadly, isn't too high at the moment) and popped in Gossamer. I knew the first song right away. But from where? A Taco Bell commercial of course. I won't hold it against them (or any other band trying to make a living these days), even if those Doritos tacos sound disgusting.

4 March 2013 - C+C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)

In an era where traditional rap music was going the way of the dinosaur.  I consider C+C Music Factory one of its last gasps.

Founded by producers Robert Clivillés and Robert Cole - the C+C in the Factory - the guys hired several studio musicians, including Zelma Davis, the later-credited Martha Wash (who is the huge female voice in this song) and Freedom Williams, who is clearly a clean-cut and dapper guy..... oh.  Wait.  That's another song.

Anyway, I dare you to try not to get up and dance when this song is on.  It's really difficult.  The words are simple and catchy, and the bass is thumpin'.  In fact, I'm dancing to it right now.

1 March 2013 - Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax

I got really sick of this song being everywhere when it was new.  But there was so much about this song that I didn't understand back then.  It was kind of a dirty song.  At least, by 1984 standards.

Produced by the legendary Trevor Horn, the song slowly reached #10 on the US charts and topped the UK charts.  This video is the 2nd version of the video - a cleaner version that was made especially for the BBC so they wouldn't ban them for indecency.  It didn't work.

In 1984, this is what passed for indecent.  Pretty tame stuff.

28 February 2013 - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - If You Leave

Who says I can't be timely when it comes to my Wicked Guilty Pleasures posts? Twenty-seven years ago today a cool little John Hughes flick called Pretty in Pink was released and the world was introduced to Andie, Blaine and of course the always off-the-wall Duckie. The soundtrack was pretty rad too. It featured one of my favorite Suzanne Vega songs (Left of Center) as well as songs by Echo and the Bunnymen, The Smiths, INXS, New Order, Psychedelic Furs and of course this OMD hit.

27 February 2013 - Sly Fox - Let's Go All The Way

Admit it.  You forgot about this song, even though you loved it when it was new.

I admit it.  I did.  Until I heard a cover of it yesterday (that we will be featuring on Totally Covered tomorrow).  I really loved this song when it was a hit in 1986, and, although it has a dated 80's sound, the energy of the tune still endures.

Now, the question is, is the song a protest against Reagan-era foreign policy or a plea to a girl to "go all the way"?  We can say one thing for sure: zhum zhum zinny zinny.