The 15 albums that made me who I am - Part 3

It's time to face the music........1985. What a crazy year for me......absolutely crazy. I touched upon that a bit in part 2, so with all that craziness, is it any wonder that 1986 was a much better year for me. At least it was more fun...I had my own apartment now, I hung out with my friends, we went to concerts in the city.....

































#8. KRAFTWERK - "ELECTRIK CAFE" (1986) / LOVE AND ROCKETS "EXPRESS" (1986) tie

One memorable night in New York City, Vince and I went to see our then favourite band SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK playing at the world famous Palladium......OK, why are you laughing ?....OK, I will ignore that and move on..... This show is memorable for a few reasons, none of them having to do with the headlining band, who were pretty awful. Before the show the DJ played, in their entirety mind you, the then new albums by both Kraftwerk and Love And Rockets. I remember liking what I was hearing for both LPs, watching the still sparse crowd dance, and meeting some cool NYC hipsters. The Kraftwerk LP as a whole isn't much of an album, more like one very long 12-inch mix. It's a bit of a letdown after the 2 previous masterpieces they released (COMPUTER LOVE and THE MAN MACHINE) but I always loved MUSIQUE NON-STOP.
The LOVE AND ROCKETS album still holds up, I think. Just give a listen to AN AMERICAN DREAM. This show is also memorable for the warm-up act. A young comic by the name of Chris Rock. From what I remember of his set, he was many many years away from brilliance.I cannot imagine what must have been going on in his head, trying out his brand of comedy to a bunch of young white goths. Needless to say it didn't go over all that well. As far as the band Sigue Sigue Sputnik playing live.......well...they did a really terrible version of Bowie's Rebel Rebel. The singer just kept repeating the first verse over and over again ........yeah...........



#9. DAVID SYLVIAN - "Secrets Of The Beehive" (1987)

Just 1 year after the non-stop party that was 1986 I finally had a "cool" job and settled down a bit. I was working at Record World in the Walt Whitman Mall in Huntington. I made a few life-long friends in my nearly 2 years there. Friends I still speak to , and I was also exposed to some great music I might have otherwise not have been exposed to. One of those artists was former Japan singer DAVID SYLVIAN. His 1987 album Secrets Of The Beehive was a bit of a departure for him, but it's still the perfect Sunday Morning album.......quiet, folky, atmospheric. Nope....this album doesn't "Rock" in the slightest, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
"FORBIDDEN COLOURS"


#10. DEAD CAN DANCE - "Serpents Egg" (1988)

Another one of those bands would be Dead Can Dance. I have carried on an over 20 year love affair with this band now. In my days in the 90's working at Soundtraks in Huntington I have turned many a stranger on to their wild and goth-y blend of world music. This is a band that has to be HEARD. Have you ever tried to describe their music to someone? It's practically impossible. "ULLYSES"

The 15 albums that made me who I am - Part 2

......





And now we skip a few years. When we last left our hero he was stuck in December 1980. John Lennon had just been killed and he became Obsessed with all thing Beatle related (an obsession that continues to this day). As the 80's dawned I was kind of stuck between two worlds.......I was still listening to classic rock radio, but there was this New Wave thing happening that caught my attention. It wasn't until I finally got Cable TV (and MTV was constantly on) that I was exposed to all those freaky English bands and I had now truly found my place.

#4. R.E.M. - "RECKONING"

The first video I saw on MTV was the Talking Heads "Once In A Lifetime". I have that image stuck in my mind.....hanging out at my friend Vinny's house....watching the Rutles (on a very bad quality video tape) and staying up late to watch non-stop MTV videos. The very early years of MTV were fantastic.....they just played whatever they could get...videos that they never would touch again once the channel got popular....yes, those early years were filled with the strangest, colorful, MOST unique videos ever......then EVERYONE had a video on MTV, and the video itself, once an expressionistic canvas of flowing artwork and ideas, had become as generic as the many Duran Duran clones that were now littering the airwaves. But there was ONE band that just did not fit in with all these pretty boy posers, and that was R.E.M. I think their second album "Reckoning" is light years ahead of their debut LP. "Harbourcoat" , "South Central Rain" and of coarse, the best song on the album, "Pretty Persuasion". R.E.M.'s videos were dark, strange, and not at all glammy and over produced. And because of this I think they have aged WAAAY better than almost anything Else released in 1984. Except for perhaps maybe.......

#5 - U2 - "The Unforgettable Fire"

...A classic when it was released, and perhaps my favourite U2 album. OK, there's a BIT of filler on it....I can do without tracks like "MLK" or "Elvis Presley & America" (...and , as good as it is....If I hear "Pride In The Name Of Love" one more time I might just grow my mullet back in protest) but there are such beautiful, BIG, fantastic tracks on this album. Co-incidentally, the 25th anniversary edition has been released and it includes some great B-sides. "Boomerang II" is one of the better ones. Think of it as a sister to Tom Tom Club's "Wordy Rappinghood", only instead of a girl rapping, it's Bono singing.......OK, perhaps that might not make this track sound all that appealing.......just listen to it....and then you just might be ready for....

#6 - FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" (1984)

Remember...I said this list will includes those albums that inspired me, or records that I associate with certain memories...they are not all going to be winners. Having said that, I remember the anticipation I (and my friend Vince) had when this album was released. We were huge Trevor Horn fans and loved everything he laid his production ears to. I remember going to Titus Oaks in Huntington and we each wanted to buy a copy of this....he bought the US version of the album, and I wanted to Import. Then we brought it over to my house and listened to it. The first track is over 23 minutes long and to us this WAS out Sgt Pepper....our White Album...our Dark Side Of The Moon....this was going to be the best album EVER recorded. That feeling didn't last, but listening back to it now, there were a couple of cool tracks on it...like "Black Night White Light" (always an underrated track), or "Happy Hi".




















#7. NEW ORDER - "Low Life" (1985) / CHINA CRISIS - "Flaunt The Imperfection" (1985) tie

The one year period from 1984 to 1985 was a whirlwind year for me. I graduated High School, moved out of my house, was briefly homeless, got a room in a house in a very bad neighborhood, and FINALLY got my own apartment. Nothing reminds me of this time like these 2 albums. Both classics, both timeless. Both should me part of a balanced breakfast


NEW ORDER - "SUNRISE"


CHINA CRISIS - "YOU DID CUT ME"

The 15 albums that made me who I am - Part 1:

Part one of a 5 part post:

Music.......it's been my life. From the second I emerged from the womb I have had a love for music. Music is constantly playing around me at all times....when I go to sleep (or when I am alone in my thoughts) it is ALWAYS playing in my head. There is never a second that I am not hearing music in one form or another. From the very first 45RPM single I purchased when I was 5 years old ("Band On The Run" by WINGS in case you were interested) to the latest Raveonettes CD, I will always seek out and discover new artists, try to discover old ones I might have missed, and re-discover what I already know by heart. So I figure I get started by listing the 15 albums that have made me who I am. The 15 albums that shaped my life.....that made me want to write, record, perform.....The 15 albums I am about to list are by no means the "Best" albums, or even my favourite albums ...in fact a couple might actually be pretty mediocre albums, but these 15 hold significance for me. They are all connected with a specific memory, or occurrence. When I hear a track from any of the following albums they cannot help but to bring me to a place , conjure up memories, make me nostalgic. I will list these in the order in which I heard them...starting with the earliest, which was released the year I was born and finish off with #15, which came out just last year. Let's start with number one:

#1 - THE DOORS - "STRANGE DAYS" (1967).

As a small child I was fascinated by singles.....45's.....7-inch wonders.....I had many favourites but it wasn't until I was 7 years old that I would begin my love affair with the album. One Christmas I received 3 albums that to this day remain 3 of my all time favourite. THE BEATLES "SGT. PEPPER" , THE BEATLES "ABBEY ROAD" and THIS. The Doors second album. As a child I didn't know who the artist was (I couldn't read the strange letters that said DOORS as they registered in my tiny brain as more symbol than letters of the alphabet) so for years I had no idea who or WHAT made this strange creepy music. I sat and listened for hours to the scary stories told by Jim Morrison, the hypnotic organ sounds...the screaming...lyrics about girls in the window that won't drop, of strange days and faces that look ugly when you're alone....it scared the hell out of me. In a GOOD way......Most critics slag off this record but to me it remains a very solid follow up to their master debut.

THE DOORS - "I CAN'T SEE YOUR FACE IN MY MIND"

#2 - THE WHO - "SELL OUT" (1967)

How can a child NOT love this. The album cover art says it all. And I still believe that THIS (and not the overrated TOMMY) is their REAL masterpiece. This reminds me of being about 11 or 12 years old. I used to take albums out at my local library and most of the time I would choose what to listen to just by the cover. This intrigued me then....and it STILL intrigues me. Here's the COMPLETE version of ODORONO. Pasted together by yours truly.
THE WHO - "ODORONO"

#3. JOHN LENNON & YOKO ONO - "DOUBLE FANTASY" (1980) and THE SPECIALS - "THE SPECIALS" (1979)

Christmas 1980. I received a cassette recorder with a built in AM/FM radio. NOW...I could FINALLY record songs off the radio in good quality ( trust me kiddies...it was a big deal in 1980) and I was so happy. I opened up my gift, put batteries in the machine, popped a fresh blank tape in and hit "record" . as the tapes rolls I try to tune in a radio station. I find one and get a few seconds of the Specials "Message To You Rudy", then tune to a station playing John Lennon's then new "I'm Losing You". and THAT, my friends would perfectly sum up my taste in music for the next 3 decades of my life........

JOHN LENNON - "I'M LOSING YOU"

THE SPECIALS - "MESSAGE TO YOU RUDY"

Mummys, Werewolves and Vampires. Oh My

It's that time again kiddies....it's Halloween. Yay.....whooo....big whoop. The best thing about Halloween has always been the music, so here's a couple of treats for ya

From Ska masters BAD MANNERS comes their version of an old 50's novelty song. "I'm A Mummy" made me laugh the first second I heard it. This should replace Monster Mash as the most popular Halloween song ever....but it won't

I posted this classic SCREAMING TRIBESMEN song last year, but this should remain in people's heads and hearts EVERY year. So here it is again. "A DATE WITH A VAMPIRE". I also posted the Bollock Brothers "HORROR MOVIES" last year too. But here it is again.

If you're a fan of "30 ROCK" (and who isn't...besides...uh...Neilson viewers) then you might have missed it last year when in one of those ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT-style quick jokes they like to do, they showed a 5 second clip of Tracey Morgan's character in an old Halloween video called "WEREWOLF BAR MITZVAH". The joke and clip went by sooo fast, but I found the entire song on-line last year. It's funny, even without the Michael Jackson Thriller-inspired video parody to accompany it. It's kitsch, but I love it.....

And Finally.......what would Halloween be without a nod to the original Twilight star, Count Dracula. So here's the Bollock Brothers again...with "DRAC'S BACK"

And Balloon Boy Blew Up In My Hand

OK......this entry has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Balloon Boy hoax, but I didn't want to let a good headline go to waste.

Instead, let's talk about one of the greatest songs of the 90's. Perhaps one of the greatest of all time. How do I KNOW this? Well, personal opinion, for one thing. and also THIS fact: For a song that was released in 1997, it sure has a growing number of cover versions. The Beatles' "Yesterday" is the most covered song in history, having been recorded by over 3,700 artists. Massive Attack's "Teardrop" has a long way to go, but it has already amassed quite a number of interpretations. Most of us know this song because we hear it every week on Fox....It's the theme to "House". But you're only hearing the least interesting parts every Monday night at 8PM. Too bad they couldn't have included just a TAD bit of Liz Fraisier's vocals. Oh well. But the song IS really beautiful and being that the former lead singer of the Cocteau Twins' lyrics are usually incoherent, cover versions of anything she does seem almost impossible. Still....these brave souls have tried to duplicate the magic. Here are 3 covers, in order of preference from best to worst.

ELBOW - "TEARDROP" . Out of all the artists who have taken a stab at this ethereal track, Elbow come the closest to creating something unique and beautiful with it. And he mumbles a bit too.....just like Liz.

Jose Gonzalez - "Teardrop"

And now for something completely different. For a Spanish lilt to this tune, check out Jose's version. I like this...........

And now for Simple Mind's new version of "TEARDROP". This is from the newly released album of covers called "Graffiti Soul". On this release they cover everything from Siouxsie & The Banshees' "Christine" to Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World". I'm not going to say anything bad about Jim Kerr's version of this song.......but I'm not going to say anything good about it either.

Show the world you love Rock and Roll

I was recently browsing through the $1 section (the floor, actually) of one of the last remaining "record" stores left on this island. I sometimes find great lost treasures. 12-inch singles I used to (or never got around to) owning, a full length album from a long lost New Wave Band, or......and this always makes me happy....Re-purchasing something I used to own that I had to give up (or sell on EBAY) years ago...and now I want it BACK.

That is the category THE WBAB HOMEGROWN ALBUM fits into.

Now...before WLIR came into my life and shaped my mid and later teen years, I was just another Long Island kid that listened to the local "rock" station WBAB. Back then (I was listening from about 1977-1982) in an hour you might hear the Beatles, The Police, Pink Floyd, Blotto , Talking Heads , Velvet Underground and Kraftwerk in the same hour...and it all made sense. But for the most part WBAB played ROCK! Yeah...man...Black Sabbath and Ozzy and Blue Oyster Cult and what-not. Which was OK, as it was what every other 12-year-old was listening to as well. And WBAB was HUGE. SO huge that they put out an album (actually 3 albums) that featured local, unsigned bands. Now....mind you....out of the 13 bands featured on this, their first compilation, THE WBAB HOMEGROWN ALBUM, only 2 of them would go on to do anything. And by ANYTHING I mean one was a one-hit-wonder (Twisted Sister), and the other was a local no-hit-wonder (Zebra). But listening to this album again really brought me back to the dawn of the 80's. And I now will share with you a couple of tracks from this long out of print classic.

SHOW THE WORLD YOU LOVE ROCK N ROLL - JOE COSTANZO

OK, this is 13 second track that the radio station used to play randomly through the day. Wonder what Joe (Cant-STANZ-o) is doing today....probably mopping up puke at a local bar and telling all the 20-year-old bar girls that he used to be on an album.

WHO'S BEHIND THE DOOR - ZEBRA

Zebra was a local phenomenon. a REAL Local phenomenon. Everyone I knew bought their debut LP for Atlantic records when it was released in late 1981. And MTV even played the video of this song, but just as Nirvana would arrive in 1991 and wash away all the bad hair metal that ruled the day, Duran Duran and Men At Work were gathering forces to rid the Earth of this Prog-Zep-influenced-long-hair-crap. Having said that, I've always liked WHO'S BEHIND THE DOOR, if only for the fact that it takes a good 4 minutes to even GET to the chorus. This version must have been the demo that got them signed to Atlantic, and the Homegrown version has a definite charm the Atlantic Version lacks.

RADIO ACTIVE BABY FOOD - Random Speed

I think this album's purpose was to look for the next Pat Benatar or Billy Joel. And the acts featured (THE GOOD RATS, TWISTED SISTER, BROKEN ARROW, SWIFT KICK) all had local followings, but the one element missing from all this good time bar rock N Roll is HUMOR. Thank God then for Random Speed. I never heard anything else by them, but you have to love Radio Active Baby Food. Very Zappa-esce.

The ONLY Rap I can handle

Rap.......Hip/Hop......Crunk........Junk.....whatever you want to call it, it is a form of "music" that I have been waiting to go away now for over 30 years. Funny how time has softened me on the early years of Rap and I now have a bit of a soft spot for the "old school" late 70's brand, but that just means I don't want to stab someone when I hear "Rapper's Delight" and I can appreciate the campiness of that period in history. Don't get me started on anything recorded after 1988 though, because all that stuff makes me want to gouge my ears out. However, there is SOME rap I DO like. And here are some examples of the greatest "rappers" in the history of Hip/Hop.

OK. Bill Cosby might not be considered a "rapper" per Se, but between eating Jello Pudding Pops and berating Eddie Murphy, he put out this lovely nugget of early Hip/Hop. Of coarse, at the time he thought he was making a parody of Disco, but just listen to his phat rhymes. Pure Poetry

BILL COSBY - BOOGIE ON YOUR FACE.

You can keep your Eminems, your Vanilla Ice's. Your Cypress Hills and your Wayne Brady's. To ME, the greatest white rapper that ever LIVED was Rodney Dangerfield. He had MAD street cred and killer duds (just look at the album cover). And his one and only hip/hop anthem still resonates with me. No Respect, No Respect

RODNEY DANGERFIELD - "Rappin' Rodney"

So you say you WANT to hear some cutting edge hip/hop, but you also want to hear a bad impression of Ronald Reagan? Well....have I got a 12-inch for YOU!

I don't know who the Doonesbury Break Crew is, but I DO know they thankfully only recorded this 1984 single and then promptly vanished.

DOONESBURY BREAK CREW - "Rap Master Ronnie"

And I save the best for last. Two powerhouses in comedy. (OK, ONE powerhouse and....uh....a small shed) came together to create THIS, the most annoying 5 minutes of your life. And, just because I like torture. I'm going to give you all 3 12-inch re-mixes of THIS.

JOE PISCOPO & EDDIE MURPHY

HONEYMOONERS RAP

HONEYMOONERS RAP (CAPTAIN VIDEO VERSION)
HONEYMOONERS RAP (KING OF THE CASTLE VERSION)

A-2

...OK, so I have gotten SOOO many requests to put up the B-sides of that ALONE AGAIN OR 12-inch, so here they are
ALONE AGAIN OR - "Smarter Than The Average Bear"
ALONE AGAIN OR - "Drum The Beat (Shall We Dance)"

And while we're at it, let's just add 1 more "A" band.
APB - "When I Feel This Way"
APB - "She's The Girl"

A

OK....I know, I know. I've been busy. Haven't posted anything in a real long time. So, now what to do? Since I'm going through all my records (with the goal of selling them all on EBAY) and putting them on disc (to upload to my Itunes) I'm thinking very alphabetically at the moment. So let's put up a few forgotten classic with artists that begin with "A":
ALPHAVILLE - BIG IN JAPAN (EXTENDED MIX)
This one isn't so forgotten, but if you are the average American you probably haven't heard this for a while. These Germans formed in 1982, and in 1984 they recorded this, their biggest hit. Funny how time has been kind to "Forever Young", but not to this gem. This is the original 12-inch mix.



ALONE AGAIN OR - "DREAM COME TRUE"

If you were listening to WLIR in 1985 you might have caught this British import New Wave dance classic on "Off The Boat". Never charted here but I've always loved this tune. Reminds me of Spize, Paris New York and Malibu, although I don't recall hearing this at any of those clubs. I have no idea about where these guys came from, what ever became of them, or even if they actually HAD a full length album. This is all I know. And sometimes, that's enough.

Speaking of bands I know nothing about: AKU-AKU - "THE NIGHT BELONGS TO CHARLIE"
I can find no info on this band. And if you weren't listening to WLIR in the early 80's you probably have never heard this either. Shame, cause this track always seemed to make it on the very many mix tapes I made for people in the 80's.

OK....This is more like it, No?
A-HA - "THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES ON TV". Here's the extended mix. Great song by a band that continues to record to this day. They are HUGE in Europe still, but then again, so is David Hasslehoff.



In the 80's a bizarre thing happened in America: songs sung in German actually CHARTED here......first it was 99 Luftballoons by Nena. Then Falco had a minor hit with "Der Kommissar" where he raps in German. How silly.....Hey, let's get some Americans to do this track in English. And unlike Nena changing her Luft Balloons to RED balloons, this actually WORKED. So as an added bonus, here's a unique mix of the classic Falco-penned "DER KOMMISSAR" by AFTER THE FIRE. They never scored another hit here, or anywhere else (although, bizarrely, their label decided to follow up Der Kommissar with "DANCING IN THE SHADOWS", which was the B-side to "Der Kommissar".
Stupid move, since everyone already OWNED the song. What were they thinking? I took the 12-inch mix of this track and mixed in the instrumental flip side on the 12-inch to create a unique mix. I hope y'all like it.

More Music More Music More Music

I have been slowly but surely fixing some of these bad links, starting with the ones you have left comments about...please re-check. Thank you all for your interest in this blog

A Musical Dream

The other night I had a dream. One of many that night, but at the end of it I could hear Coldplay performing a version of the Smiths "Asleep" ...and it sounded amazing. I woke with this song in my head ....a song that has actually, to my knowledge, never taken . This wasn't the first time my mind created a perfect blend of artists voice and style with a well known song by another artist. In 1987 I could hear, as clear as day inside another dream, Suzanne Vega performing a version of Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle" and it sounded so beautiful and perfect I had to have a bunch of people convince me that it never happened in this reality.

That's the power of dreams, and perhaps it might be unique to musicians or at least music lovers that these kind of dreams speak to us and touch us deeper than in non-musical people. I also recall a dream I had in the mid-80's. I was driving up a hill and the music was New Order's "Perfect Kiss"....the end instrumental part of the song where it climax's , but Mick Jagger's "Just Another Night" vocal was playing on top of it.......perhaps my subconscious mind created the world's first mash-up.

So with this in mind, I would like to add my wish-list of covers. Song's I'd love to hear covered by artists I'd love to hear cover them.....just a couple :

Al Stewart's "Year Of The Cat" covered by THE PET SHOP BOYS (This about it...wouldn't this be PERFECT?)

The Who's "Our Love Was" covered by Elbow

APB's "Shoot You Down" performed by NINE INCH NAILS

The Undertone's "Teenage Kicks" performed by Oasis

Marshall Crenshaw's "Whenever You're On My Mind" performed by R.E.M.

Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptian's "Madonna Of The Wasps" performed by XTC

That's all I can think of right now.......til next time .....

RANDOM - Part two

I KNOW...I KNOW....I haven't written in over 6 weeks...been busy at the 'ol day job and sleepy at night....but I have a couple of minutes so here goes another post. Since I can't think of any particular thing to write about I think I'll just take the IPOD, hit SHUFFLE SONGS, and write about whatever comes up.......OK..here we go:

WEEN - "EVEN IF YOU DON'T".........

Wow.....great first track. This is from Ween's White Pepper album, one of the better Ween albums. This track is SOOOOO 10CC I'm surprised they haven't tried to sue. LOVE this song though. If it didn't come out in 2000 I'd swear it was recorded in 1976.

next

THE FIXX - "LOSE FACE"

Good track from a good album. This comes from the Fixx's 1984 album PHANTOMS. Some great tracks on this LP. "SUNSHINE IN THE SHADE" and "ARE WE OURSELVES" being the two stand-outs. Also contains "WOMAN ON A TRAIN" which I think should have been a single......it wasn't. Next

R.E.M. - "SUPERNATURAL SUPERSERIOUS"

Cool........from their "comeback" album Accelerate, this was the first single. Great to see R.E.M. getting a bit louder and rockier in their old age. This song reminds me of last year when my fiance and I saw R.E.M. at Jones Beach and almost got hit by lightning. Then the skies opened up and we got soaked.....the band was great but I can't wait til the next time we see them...hopefully we'll be dry. next

ORCHESTRAL MANOEVRES IN THE DARK - "Souvenir (remix)"

From the great Architecture & Morality album.....Here's a remix of the classic track "Souvenir". I'm not sure who did this mix and I'm not sure where I got it....but that Piano line sounds way too Moby for it to not be Moby. This is such a beautiful song though, isn't it.

OK...that's enough for now....I SWEAR I will do another post this week....nice long 4 day weekend coming up and I'll have some time....til then......

WEIRD COVERS

There are covers .....and then there are COVERS. In this day and age we forget that not every artist writes their own material. MOST do....but then again...a lot DO NOT.

So.....it is left to the artist to put their unique spin on songs composed by others. Frank Sinatra made a whole career out of his unique interpretation of classic standards......and then there are THESE people:



Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. Such a classic comedy team. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Odd Couple when it was re-run in syndication growing up in the late 70's / early 80's. And I love it today. I could watch it forever and never be bored. But THIS ???

Sometime in the early 70's....to cash in on their new found fame....some record company decided it was a good idea to have these release an album. It didn't matter that Klugman couldn't carry a tune in a garbage can. And their version of Carly Simon's "YOU'RE SO VAIN" is so excruciatingly awful that it always makes me cringe and laugh at the same time. "Who are those girls?" Felix asks.

"Who are your agents ?" is more like it.....



Speaking of excruciating, dig THIS cover of the Nancy Sinatra classic "THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKING" by the ever so bizzare Crispin Glover. In 1989 Enigma records (Now no longer a record lable....hmmm...imagin that)strangely gave a recording contract to this whack-a-doo. He filled this album with bad poetry, a rap about masterbation, a song about a clown (The Barnes & Barnes assisted "Clowny Clown Clown") ,a Charles Manson cover!!....and THIS. I love how the song starts bad and as it goes on he gets more manic and starts crying the lyrics.....Nancy Sinatra must be rolling over in her grave......oh wait......she's not dead......perhaps she's just never heard this yet.


Now HERE's a band that has been around for over 20 years now putting their unique spin on A-capella. Everything they do uses only their voices, maybe a drum machine occasionally, and their great taste in the poppier side of UK hits. In the 80's they actually had a hit with a pretty cool version of Yazoo's "Only You". That was actually GOOD........but as the years rolled on and the joke wore thin they recorded THIS. Prince's "WHEN DOVES CRY" is a classic mid-80's wonder of production over substance....strip all that away and what you get is this laugh inducing track. My favourite part is the beginning...TOO funny. And if you want more Picketts, listen to their version of Nirvana's "SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT"......and then take a sharp stick to your eardrums.......

That was good...what ELSE ya got?

Talking About an artist's big hit is BORING.....what always fascinated me was what they did for a follow-up. Usually the next single after a hit would have been a hit as well, or at least be remembered as the decades rolled on...but that's not always the case, and that's what we're here to talk about today. Let's start with those red leather-clad dudes the Romantics

In 1984, The Romantics shot up to Number 3 with their hit "Talking In Your Sleep" (here's the 12-inch remix). So.....what to do for a follow-up? They actually released what I think is a better song, but it only made it to number 37 on the Billboard chart and the Romantics were soon forgotten about. That song was "One In A Million". I think the hook is catchy and it should have made it higher than 37.....and ask anyone today about this song and you'll more than likely get stares, frowns and perhaps red leather pants thrown in your face.


In 1979 Rupert Holmes hit it BIG with his album Partners In Crime, most likely due to his monster number one hit "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)". When you think back to that piece of crap song you think to yourself "Thank God he never released anything else".....but he DID....off the same album...and both songs were Billboard top-40 hits, too.......go on....try to name them.......I THOUGHT so......
So....how do you follow-up a cute little ditty about finding true love with the one you're already with....a song that even back then we knew we'd be hearing in every bar and wedding reception for decades to come? How about a song about a paranoid boyfriend that stalks his current girlfriend because he think she's cheating on him, but has no proof at all....he just KNOWS...."I know who left those smokes behind" he yells at his woman.....who probably is just blowing off this dude cause he's all old and beard-y.

This has got to be the CREEPIEST billboard top 6 song EVER.

"Him" made it to number six, and the song still gives me chills........that "Whoo-wooo" solo he does in the middle......couldn't the producer have said "Uh...Rupert.....DON'T DO THAT"........I guess not. The next single, "Answering Machine" also made it to the top 40.....number 32 to be exact. In this one our hero keeps calling up his girlfriend, probably the same one he accuses of cheating on him in "Him", and keeps getting the beep before he can finish his tirade. Hey Rupert, come out of retirement...perhaps you can make a comeback by writing a song about a 50+ year old man that keeps sending "add as friend" requests to a high school girl on Facebook....but she never adds him...and he gets mad....then the cops show up and take the old perv away....THAT would be a GREAT song......

I look back on it now and think "did top 40 radio REALLY play these songs...cause I do NOT remember that. But then again, I was 13, John Lennon had just been shot, and I was too busy going through puberty to notice.

Everyone THINKS that Modern English is a one hit wonder. Fact is that in this country the only song they're remembered for, "I Melt With You", only made it to number 78 on the billboard singles chart in 1982. I guess they could be called a no-hit wonder. Strange how time has been kind to I Melt With You. Their follow-up 2 years later, "Hands Across The Sea" was a better song in my opinion and it should have finally broken them here. Alas, it only made it to a pitiful #93 in the states.

NEW WAVE CLASSICS - Part One

In 1981, Way Of The West released their debut single, "Don't Say That's Just For White Boys". The B side was "Prove It". The English new wave band released five singles by 1984 but disappeared before releasing an album. It's too bad cause this is a fantastic slice of post punk attitude. Here's the 12-inch version. it DOES go on a bit too long, but 12-inch singles DID that in the early 80's......all that coke keeping the club goers dancing while the DJ take a pee break. in 1984 they had a GREAT single that didn't chart but got a lot of airplay on Long Island's influential WLIR. That song was "CITY FOR LOVERS" and If I'm not mistaken, they disappeared after this. shame......

The year: 1982...the band: WIDE BOY AWAKE. the song: "SLANG TEACHER". a groovy little disco/wave number. So what do we know about them? They were formed by Ex-Adam and the Ants bassist Kevin Mooney in the early '80s. "Slang Teacher" was released as a 7" single, and also appeared on a five song EP released by RCA in 1983. The band disappeared not long after. I think they were making up most of this "slang"....."No Pain In The Mouth"? "No Long Innertube?......what the hell were they TALKING about??

In September of 1983, Intaferon released their second single, "Get Out Of London". It was backed by another version of "Get Out Of London", this being a REALLY long 12-inch mix........ The English duo released three singles but never an album. This single reached the #93 spot on the U.K. singles chart and, as usual, to us misunderstood ,trendy kids out here on Long Island we could actually relate to this number even though London was "across the pond" as they say. There are some great lyrics here. " Threw a party for my friends so they wouldn't be lonely, they wouldn't let me in they said 'Membership Only'". I mean....c'mon...THAT'S a great line.

In 1983, EMI - AMERICA tried out a new-wavy pretty-boy band called INDUSTRY. They released a 5-song EP in hopes that it would sell and this would lead to an album deal.

It didn't....and it didn't. But they did have a cute little video on MTV and got semi-famous for all of 15 minutes....or at least 4 minutes and 35 seconds. I always liked STATE OF THE NATION, but listening to it now it IS a bit of it's time and it's so sugary it'll give your ear diabetes.

The Cure invented Mash-Ups (link fixed)

OK....not REALLY, but this 1981 side project had a very interesting history......
Cult Hero's " I'M A CULT HERO" b/w "I DIG YOU" is a very unique oddity.
The single was conceived by Robert Smith (singer/guitarist of The Cure) and Simon Gallup (then bassist of The Magspies) as a way to test their musical compatibility. Smith was considering Gallup as a prospective replacement for Michael Dempsey (The Cure's bassist at the time) "whose personality and ambitions for the band were seriously at odds" with Smith's.
The songs were written for, and feature on vocals, local Horley postman Frank Bell, who is also featured on the single's artwork. They also feature ex-Cure guitarist Porl Thompson and Magspies keyboardist Matthieu Hartley amongst an extended lineup of friends and family, including Robert's sisters Janet and Margaret and local band The Obtainers. Most people today can find this gem on the deluxe edition of the Cure's "17 Seconds" CD But the version I'm about to give you has never...and WILL never be released.
In the 80's, Long Island's influential radio station played a 12-inch remix of "I DIG YOU" that was actually put together by a mysterious DJ. Only a couple of people had this because of the unique nature of the remix.....pieces of the Beatles " Day Tripper" and "Birthday" are scattered throughout. As is "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones and Madness' "One Step Beyond". In doing this I think he (or she) inadvertently invented the Mash-Up.....a good 20 years before it took off....A Really good friend of mine gave me a copy he recorded on a cassette tape in the early 80's...right off the radio..... and here's that version........cherish it........
I DIG YOU (THE WLIR MIX) - CULT HERO

TWIRLING...TWIRLING...TWIRLING TOWARDS FREEDOM

Here we are....FINALLY.......today is the season finale of the drama we call ELECTION. Which one of your favourite characters win ? Will it be Grampa Grumpy-pants? LORD I HOPE NOT!!!!
But that would be an unpredictable twist, wouldn't it........PLEASE...NO SURPRISE ENDINGS AMERICA!!!!
Well....if things go the way I THINK they will go , tomorrow we will have our first African American president-elect. The Republicans will wonder where it all went wrong. There are SOOO many reasons but I'll tell you when I think it first happened. If you'll remember during the Republican convention when Giulliani was speaking he said ever so snarkily:" Barack Obama was a community organizer.......WHAT???" and the audience of bloated conservatives laughed like a bunch of giddy Frenchmen....
Well......A community organizer organizes COMMUNITIES!!! And the Obama campaign has done a fantastic job of organizing the entire NATION , the biggest community of all. So that's what you all get for looking down on community organizers you spoiled, rich, nasty elephants!......GO BACK TO ALASKA and wave to Russia from your window miss brain-dead whack-job. Time to think about retiring before your senility gets any worse creepy Grampa........
Like the great philosopher Peter Brady said : "WHEN IT'S TIME TO CHANGE YOU KNOW IT'S ....TIME TO CHANGE."



FISHBONE - CHANGE

BLANCMANGE

They should have been HUGE, but for some reason Harrow, Middlesex's BLANCMANGE remained on the sidelines for most of their short career. So what if they weren't the eye-candy that DEPECHE MODE were. Vocalist/Guitarist Neil Arthur and Keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Stephen Luscombe had some impressive dance-pop-New Wave that didn't easily fit in to the new romantic movement. For starters, their biggest hit "LIVING ON THE CEILING" had a bit of a Middle Eastern flavor to it. Here's the rare 12-inch version.

I love the break in the middle with just the drums and hand-claps.

In 1982 they released their first album HAPPY FAMILIES, and thanks to LIVING ON THE CEILING it became a club staple. Another great song from that album was "GOD'S KITCHEN", here it is in it's extended 12-inch form.
Then 2 years later they released their masterpiece MANGE TOUT. By now MTV was turning all us teens in the US on to all those new young British bands and inspiring a second wave of UK groups conquering America's youth. One of the most popular videos on MTV in 1984 was "BLIND VISION". listen to this 12-inch mix. I have no idea what the lyrics mean but as a rebellious teen I was drawn to it's haunting keys and dark horn punctuation. A great overlooked track was "GAME ABOVE MY HEAD". here's the 12-inch remix. And to finish things, here's another one that got a lot of airplay on WLIR at the time "THAT'S LOVE THAT IT IS"(12-INCH REMIX).

The following year BLANCMANGE released their 3rd and final album BELIEVE YOU ME. The album was a step up in maturity but by now the magic was over. The album only reached #52 in the UK charts and there were no hit singles from it. That's a shame because there are a few gems on this album. "LOSE YOUR LOVE" was the closest thing this LP had to a hit and it deserves a place alongside Depeche Mode's "But Not Tonight" as perhaps the most depressingly worded, but happy SOUNDING songs of the mid 80's. "DON'T YOU LOVE IT ALL" and "WHY DON'T THEY LEAVE THINGS ALONE" were perhaps a bit too tame for a public being spoon fed crap like DURAN DURAN's "Wild Boys" but it's because of it's subtle production that these songs have aged SOOO much better.

Arthur and Luscombe parted ways in 1987, with Luscombe forming the innovative WEST INDIA COMPANY and Arthur releasing a solo record. It was never the same again......it never is.

SPOOKY SCARY

The weather turns cooler....the leaves change color...and all the stores have their Christmas decorations up. This can only mean one thing: HALLOWEEN is coming!!!
Time for a little Halloween mix:
First up is a great little ditty from 1983 (OOOH!!)
THE ELECTRIC GUITARS "Wolfman Tap" is one of those forgotten WLIR staples. Why would anyone combine Wolfmen and tap dancing?? I don't know, but the results are infectious.

Next up is this dancey gothy romp from the Screaming Tribesmen. 1985's "Date With A Vampire" is a must have for any self respecting Goth or over-40 New Waver.


The Bollock Brothers' "Horror Movies" has also been a New Wave favourite of mine for years. I love how it's a complete and total rip off of "Spooky". But I'll let that slide.

I'd like to end this with a not at all New Wave selection from the mid 70's
The 5 MAN ELECTRIC BAND's "Werewolf" has that right mix of camp and creep. I like how in the song the Werewolf's Dad has to kill his son that has been slaughtering sheep, and when they meet the Mom is actually rooting for the kid to eat his Dad.......Thanks honey, I Love You TOO!!!

That's it for now.....I'm sure I'll be posting more in the couple of weeks to come. Remember: Halloween is not over until the Simpson's Halloween Special airs.....which is always sometime in November

THE ELECTRIC GUITARS - WOLFMAN TAP (12-INCH EXTENDED MIX)

THE ELECTRIC GUITARS - WOLFMAN TAP
THE SCREAMING TRIBESMEN - DATE WITH A VAMPIRE
THE BOLLOCK BROTHERS - HORROR MOVIES

5 MAN ELECTRIC BAND - WEREWOLF