Only Time Will Tell

I realized that I had not posted at all in August, which is very unlike me.  Not sure why I have been so absent, since that is pretty much the opposite of my mission with this blog.  So, I've decided to get up off my posterior and write!  Actually, I am sitting as I type, so I am not really off my derrière.  Anyway, I've heard this one tune on Nights with Alice Cooper several times, and I had no idea of the title or the group.  I just knew that I liked the song and seemed to have the lyric "your insincerity" stuck in my head.  I did a bit of searching and discovered that the song was by Asia, and the title was "Only Time Will Tell."  Hmm...  I don't think I ever realized that!  I watched the video and sort of vaguely remembered it.  It came out in 1982, and I suppose I may have seen it once or twice.  The television sets in the video seemed familiar, but I don't think the video received much airplay back in the day.  Watching it this evening, I'm not sure I completely follow the concept, but early videos didn't always have a theme/concept/plot that matched the song's lyrics or message.  Nope.  I think this one was merely a "hey, this new music video thing is cool and modern" -- hence the many televisions.  I think it was pretty new technology to have one image spread over the multiple t.v. sets, which was pretty cool.  I'm not sure I follow the gymnast idea, either, but I think there were a few videos with gymnasts in the '80s.  It does kind of give a sense of perpetual motion, and hey, only time will tell...

So, what will time tell?  Well, the song is about a man who was in a relationship with a woman who just used him and pretended to be in love.  It was all a lie.  Her insincerity is the part of the lyric I remember!  I guess only time will tell what happens with this woman.  I have no idea.  Sounds like it was a good thing that the man discovered "the lie" and ended this thing.  Or maybe she did.  I don't know.  It doesn't really matter, anyway, because it's just a good tune.  It may be one of few songs I can remember where the guitar has a really melodic line that sort of echos the singer.  Now that is cool.  Cooler than television sets and gymnasts...

Heat of the Moment

This is definitely one of my favorite songs from the 80s.  For the longest time, I only paid attention to the chorus and assumed it was about a guy cheating on his girlfriend -- and perhaps asking for forgiveness.  I admit that I didn't really listen to the rest of the lyrics or even hear them (other than the line "and now you find yourself in '82").  I thought that line about "'82" was pretty cool since the song was released then, and it sounded so "futuristic."  Now it seems like ancient history...  Nevertheless, I read the lyrics to the song and some commentary, and now I realize that it is about a teenaged couple.  They must have had a very intense relationship, or at least as intense as teenaged relationship can be.  Anyway, the lead singer is sort of reminiscing about their younger days, and now they find themselves in '82 as adults.  He mentions some of her hopes and dreams from the past - "What were the things you wanted for yourself?  Teenage ambition you remember well..."  So, I think it conveys a message of encouragement for the woman to not grow old and loose sight of what was important to her.