14 May 2013 - Demi Lovato - Heart Attack

This site IS called Wicked Guilty Pleasures. X Factor judge Demi Lovato has a new record (Demi) out today. I think y'all can put 2 and 2 together. Here's her latest video. Not bad, but it's no Skyscraper.

13 May 2013 - Alan Parsons Project - Don't Answer Me

Let's forget about the song for a minute.  This video, which is clearly very Dick Tracy comic-inspired, is among the most beautiful ones I've ever seen. And Nick gets the girl in the end.  What more can you ask?!  So, before we talk about the music, let's enjoy the video.



The song itself, though, is not at all happy.  It's angry and depressed and sarcastic in the first verse.  The second verse keeps the anger and depression, but the sarcasm is replaced with hope.  I was always impressed with the way Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson kept the story going so far forward in such a short song.  And, let's be honest - music hadn't seen this much orchestral-style layering since Phil Spector!

10 May 2013 - Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

It's almost the weekend, so I thought we needed a fun song.  What better fun song than this classic, performed by a side project of the Talking Heads?  Enjoy one of the most sampled songs in history.

9 May 2013 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - True Men Don't Kill Coyotes

I'm going to move away from the typical 80s Thursdays cheese today and instead present you with a video from the self-titled Red Hot Chili Peppers debut from 1984 (I suppose some of you will say it's an entirely different kind of 80s cheese). Hard to believe they've been around for almost 30 years. I wasn't too sure about their first couple records when I first heard them (shortly after Mother's Milk came out). I eventually came around (many years later). I doubt I'll ever say the same about their last two albums.

8 May 2013 - Kate Bush - Cloudbusting (with a Neil Halstead bonus)

Here in the Rochester, NY, area, where I write this blog, we sit today, with a thickening cloud cover and corresponding barometric pressure that I am quite positive is causing pain for many with nerve or joint issues today.

Thankfully, I am not one of those sufferers.

But, for them, perhaps Wilhelm Reich's research on his farm, Orgonon, would help open the skies.  Kate Bush's song, loosely based on Peter Reich's book - he was Wilhelm's son - is a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to not only rainmaking, but a close relationship between father (played in this video by Donald Sutherland) and son (played by... well, Kate Bush).



As a bonus, here is Neil Halstead's fantastic cover of the song, re-imagined as a lullaby.

7 May 2013 - Michael Penn - No Myth

I saw Michael Penn a few years back when he was touring for his fantastic Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 record. Much like his better half Aimee Mann, he's a tremendous storyteller and performer. He's also very funny too, especially when he introduced this song -- surprisingly not called "Romeo in Black Jeans."

6 May 2013 (Part II) - The Darling Buds - Burst

So, while planning for Darling Buds Day 2014 - because, you know, this is a thing now - I will be petitioning to make this a national holiday in Wales - I started to worry.  What if I had found their only two videos?

I need not have worried.  We're so set for years to come that I felt it safe to post a SECOND video.  Whereas this and this were from their second album, the classic Crawdaddy, this one is from their debut, Pop Said.... The sound is slightly different - less pop, more rock - but three things are clear.

1. Their record label was hellbent on marketing them as a rock band with a blonde female lead vocalist.
2. Said blonde lead vocalist - Andrea Lewis - was really charismatic without showing too much boob (something that I would not say about Wendy James of Transvision Vamp, who was marketed the same way).  In fact, she was kind of modest.
3. This band is full of great musicians.

This song is fast-paced and will give you whiplash, much like most of their first album.  Probably why I love it so much.