15 February 2023 - Curve - Chinese Burn

We seem to come back to Curve an awful lot.  For good reason - they are a band that had real forward-sounding music, continually.  They reinvented themselves, continually.

And they broke up way too soon.  

This song, the lead single from their third album, Come Clean, waste no time getting right into the high-energy music.  It is so high energy it was featured in the TV series La Femme Nikita, and also Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  Is it the theme song for all shows adapted from better movies?  It is angry and powerful throughout, and I'd bet they loved it in the clubs.

Buffy loved it in the club.

14 February 2023 - Eagle-Eye Cherry - Save Tonight

Today, we feature Eagle-Eye Cherry, one hit wonder half-brother of a one-hit wonder (Neneh Cherry) (at least from a US standpoint - he did have more hits in Europe).  This is his one US hit.  

This video for this song was filmed in Stockholm, Sweden - Eagle-Eye Cherry is 1/2 Swedish, so this was his home country.  The song itself, released in 1997 but not a North American hit until 1999, is a soulful journey through the impending loss of love - and relishing the moments you have, tonight.  

So, on this Valentine's Day, please, enjoy your night, no matter how you spend it.  Don't worry about tomorrow.

13 February 2023 - Rebbie Jackson - Centipede

Growing up, I was a big fan of music videos.  Thankfully, I didn't just digest these videos from MTV (although this particular one got a little airplay there).  I watched a lot of BET, which, back then, was openly calling itself Black Entertainment Television.  They had a lot of shows that played R&B and hip hop videos.  

Thus, I discovered what was a minor pop hit - but a huge R&B hit that didn't cross over hard.  

Rebbie is the oldest of the Jackson siblings. She has not had as many hits as her brothers or even her sister Janet, and she doesn't have the psychic network of LaToya - but she had "Centipede", her 1984 hit and best known song - a top 30 pop hit that reached the top 5 on the R&B charts.  Written and produced by her kid brother Michael - yes, that's him on background vocals, along with Izora Rhodes and Martha Wash (who are better known as the Weather Girls).  

For Rebbie, family came first - the album of the same name and this single were not released until her children were old enough and she had spent time with them while they were young.   Despite that focus on family, she didn't initially want to use her maiden name (Jackson) as an artist - but relented because, well, it's her name and it carries power.  If you look at the album and single for this song, you'll notice "Rebbie" is big and "Jackson" is small.

I don't make these things up.

 Anyway, it was BET that introduced me to this song, and I am grateful.  I hope you enjoy it.

10 February 2023 - Fishbone - Sunless Saturday

This 1991 song isn't likely Fishbone's best known song - "Ma and Pa" comes to mind - but it is their biggest hit to date.

The song is pretty blatant lyrically - the narrator hates his life and everything around him. The song is probably straight-up about depression.  The high-speed ska-funk-punk-rock fusion masks the sad nature of the song, 

I did say it was their biggest hit to date.  They're still together and they still perform.

9 February 2023 - Bad Brains - I Against I

Little known fact: Bad Brains started off life as a jazz fusion band. 

Sure.  I hear it.  

The title of this song, the title song from their 1986 album, is actually a reggae reference - "I and I" is a phrase used in reggae to signify one's relationship with God.  Although Bad Brains was - is - clearly a punk band that I first learned about on the pages of Thrasher magazine in my days as skate punk in the 1980's (yes, I still have my board), their influences include reggae, jazz, and funk.  

Anyway, if this is the first time you're hearing Bad Brains, enjoy.

8 February 2023 - Tina Turner - We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)

In 1985, Tina Turner was well into her musical comeback, already having the record for oldest person to ever score a #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 ("What's Love Got To Do With It").  Other opportunities were falling into her lap.

One of those was to star in a movie - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - the sequel to Mad Max and The Road Warrior (if you aren't reading this from the United States or Canada, that second movie was Mad Max 2, and I apologize for the confusion). The film did modestly at the box office, but sparked a #2 hit that would be one of Turner's biggest hits.

The song, a power ballad, referenced the movie and the post-apocalyptic future of 1997 directly.  (That's right.  This futuristic look in the video is what 1985 filmmakers thought 1997 would look like). It would be a bigger hit than the movie, and received a lot more critical acclaim, too, including several award nominations.

Throughout her career, Turner has continued to perform this song..... and dress up when she does.  Here she is in 2009, pushing 70, still belting this song hard and huge as she always did.  

7 February 2023 - Prince & The New Power Generation - 7

It's been a LONG time since we had Prince on here.  

So let's just go with what is arguably his most ambiguous song in his catalog.

7?  Seven of WHAT?  Seven names of God?  Seven deadly sins?  Is he just into numerology? Either way, it's clearly heavy on the religious undertones.  Also, in the video, he kills past versions of himself - even Purple Rain-era Prince, people.  Also, his wife dances with a sword on her head, which is pretty badass.

The song has middle Eastern and funk influences, with a heavy drum and bass.  This unusual song made it to #7 on the pop charts, mostly because of Prince's intellect and savoir-faire.  

(Yes, of course we chose to post this today.  Makes sense, right?)