Good, Bad, and Love Sensations

This evening, I decided to look at some songs from 1983.  It seemed like a quiet year to my recollection, because I didn't seem to remember anything really big from that time.  So, I looked at a list of songs and was surprised to see so many that I can remember scaring the daylights out of me when I was younger.  Granted, I wasn't even 10 in 1983.  In fact, I hadn't started playing clarinet yet, so I was pretty young.  Needless to say, many songs from that year scared me for various reasons.  I revisited one this evening and decided to pass -- because I was still scared -- almost 30 years later!

Oddly enough, what scared me in a figurative sense was that somehow I stumbled upon the music of Samantha Fox.  Yeah.  Back in '87 and '88, when I was in middle school, she was the bomb for sure.  Guys drooled over her, and all the girls wanted to be just like her.  We danced around and sang her songs -- we had no idea what they were about.  I distinctly remember that we found it to be so cool that she was from England.  Back in the '80s, it was also very hip to have short spoken parts in songs -- and she always had those.  It was just too cool to have spoken words by someone from England!  (Well, at least for us teeny boppers stateside).  Unfortunately, I listened to her songs once again tonight and watched the videos.  Yeah, I could see why we thought they were cool.  She always had this hip jeans jacket and lots of great dancing in the videos (although nothing nearly as complex as Janet Jackson).  She even had blond hair that was dyed pink underneath in her "Naughty Girls Need Love" video.  I watched that one, "Touch Me," "I Wanna Have Some Fun," and "Love House."  I have to say that they were all pretty awful (I hope I don't get struck by lightening for saying that!).  Thank goodness she had the group Full Force to back her up in some of those.  Whew.  At least that made things somewhat more vocally and musically complex.  Meanwhile, I forgot that "Love House" creeped me out.  There's a spoken part in it -- kind of Vincent Price-esque -- that says, "Want to visit the house?"  CREEPY!  Of course, then Samantha Fox says, "Ici Samantha! Oui oui!"  Well, that did it.  Fright was scared away by cheese.  Anyway, I felt my ears had melted a bit after all this terrible pop.  To think that I loved it when I was in middle school!  Gosh -- what did I know?  Thank goodness I went on to become a trained musician.  I read that "I Wanna Have Some Fun" sampled Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation," which I had never heard (the tune, that is).  I actually heard bits of it sampled in Marky Mark's "Good Vibrations" and in some Black Box tune.  "Love Sensation" was released in 1980, so it just made it to this blog!  I had to listen to it a few times to cleanse my ears, and I decided to put it in this post.  Now, this is a real tune with awesome, full-bodied vocals and amazing instrumentals.  I thought my computer was going to pop from that awesome trombone playing.  If this tune doesn't make you want to get up and dance -- or at least jam in your Lazy Boy, then there may be no hope.  Enjoy!

Careless Whispers

Okay -- I did that on purpose.  We ALL know that the name of this tune is "Careless Whisper" -- especially after all the recent attention it's gotten from "Sexy Sax Man."  Can you believe that when I was at the 2012 NAMM Show, "Sexy Sax Man" came by our booth and did his schtick right across the aisle?  I thought, "UGH."  Not sure if it was his sax playing or the fact that I was sick from the infamous salmonella incident.  I apologize -- please do not let me ruin your opinion of the song with that image.  I have to say that I do enjoy the song and feel that George Michael's voice is so smooth and beautiful -- and versatile.  I can't think of one George Michael or Wham! tune that I didn't like.  Yeah, I'm not embarrassed to admit it -- even "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go."  I guess it all boils down to the fact that I was in middle school in 1984.  Can you believe George Michael and Tina Turner were on top of the charts at the very same time?  Amazing  And, just for the record, I titled this post "Careless Whispers" because that is what a caller on the Delilah show requested this evening.  We all know what he meant.  Seems kind of charming in a sense -- sort of like when you hear people say "Victoria's Secrets."

Anyway, George Michael had some terrific tunes -- "Freedom," "Father Figure," "Faith," and the list goes on.  Inspite of the extremely cheesy sax solo in this tune, there are some wonderful additional instrumentals -- like the beautiful acoustic guitar.  It compliments George's voice so perfectly, and I swear I even hear some soft bongos in the tune.  But that sax solo -- I guess we love to hate it and hate to love it.  I don't think I love it, although I do admit it's ensnaring.  Grabs a hold of your ear and won't let go!  Meanwhile, this is a simple tune about a man who cheated on his girlfriend/fiancée and now feels so, so incredibly sad and guilty.  "Guilty feet have got no rhythm..."  I never realized those were the words.  I always thought it was "guilty feeling's got no rhythm."  Makes so much more sense now!  I also hadn't seen the video in a long time -- maybe since '84!  Check it out.  George Michael looks terrific, and the ladies in the video are sporting some really '80s styles.  I don't think I have ever seen a more perfectly '80s swimsuit than the one worn by "the other woman" in this video.  Wow.  Don't see many like that on the beach anymore, but you also don't see many women who aren't pumped full of silicone in videos now.  Oh well...  Take a look at this video if you are longing for more natural times...

Hurts So Good

Yeah, I think we all know this John Cougar Mellencamp song from 1982.  I mean, how could you not have heard this at least a few dozen times?  It's got an excitingly naughty title and... well, is it really what we think?  I'm not so sure.  In fact, when I think about the tune and remember hearing it back in the day, I can't really say that I paid much attention to the lyrics.  As usual, I was distracted by the amazing guitar playing and John's voice.  "When I was a young boy..."  is basically all I hear, and then I stop listening to the lyrics.  His voice is really quite unique and seems to capture the American sound.  Yeah, he pretty much is the voice of America, or at least the "Heartland" as they say.  Anyway, back to the song.  So, I can think back to the chorus and note "sometimes love don't feel like it should." and it still doesn't convince me that this song is about what people might speculate.  In fact, I always thought it was a bit tongue-in-cheek and almost a parody.  I read some background information on the song, and it seems as though the song really was a joke.  It was kind of a dare from a friend -- a joking suggestion to write a tune with that title.  Well, in the end, the song came out quite well.  I always forget that so many of Mellencamp's songs have hand clapping, which really makes it cool.  Makes you want to get up and sing your heart out with him!  I know people have commented that the song is terrific and the video is "awful," but even the video is comical and a bit of a parody in my mind.  I say, "Kudos, Mr. Mellencamp,"  It is awful-ly funny in my opinion.

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...

Take Your Time (Do It Right)

I can't believe I haven't written about this tune yet, because it is one of my absolute favorites.  It was also released in 1980 -- which means it just sneaks in as an "80s" tune.  You may argue this point since it doesn't really sound very "80s," but 1980 was just the turning point of the new decade.  So, there may have been some residual disco and funk in the early songs of the decade, and this is probably a good example.  But you know, whenever there is a good tune, it really doesn't matter when it was written or how it is classified.  I would certainly agree that this S.O.S. band tune qualifies as a classic for any decade.

There are just so many elements that make this song a hit.  There are also many different layers going on at the same time from an instrumental standpoint.  It's truly amazing.  I must say, the glockenspiel really does it for me.  I mean, how cool is it to have a glockenspiel in a pop/disco/funk/dance song?  It really works!  Then, there is this awesome guitar riff that is like a '70s funk motor, and it just cranks along all the way through -- keeping your body moving to the beat.  If you zone in on that riff, it could leave you in the most excellent funky daze.  There's also a terrific horn section with trumpet and sax -- very typical of the 70s.  They don't make wind sections like that in bands anymore.  I tell you -- those were some great gigs for brass and sax players, and those guys knew how to play.  I'm still jealous!  Anyway, the video is a classic, and I guess I didn't really hear the hand clapping until I watched the video.  The band is really happening, and they do so many things -- clap, play glockenspiel and sax, and just generally keep the groove going.  Mary Davis's voice is pure and smooth with depth and a wonderful soulful sound.  She sings about taking time when you get home to relax and, well, you know, have some couple's time -- "take the time to be alone...lock the door, pull out the phone."  Couldn't agree more.  I always thought in the chorus that she was singing, "Baby we can do it, take your time, do it right...we can do it baby...do it tonight."  In actuality, it's "Baby we can do it, take the time, do it right..."  Yeah, I guess I got confused from the title or just took it for granted.  Makes just a slight shade of difference between "take your time" and "take the time."  Whatever the case, this tune is the best!  I still have that guitar riff in my head...

Stand Back

Wonder Woman: Amazon, not witch.

I heard "Stand Back" by Stevie Nicks this afternoon while driving and thought, "Hey, why haven't I written about this?"  You see, "The Wild Heart" was the very first album I purchased.  When I say album, I mean exactly that -- vinyl LP.  Anyone remember those?  Well, I was pretty young when this came out in 1983, but I had to have it.  I was truly mesmerized by Stevie Nicks -- especially in the video.  She had this amazingly perfect hair and the most stunning, flowing outfits.  She'd have these translucent shawls that she would drape around her shoulders and then lift her arms and spin around -- kind of in a mystical variation of Wonder Woman's transformation spin.  In the video, there must have been a huge wind machine blowing right at her, and I swear it looks like she is about to take off and soar -- which in my mind is a good thing.  Yeah, lots of people talk about her being (supposedly) a witch, but come on.  That is just nonsense.  Capes and shawls and gypsies and so forth mean you're a witch?  Of course.  Yeah.  What about capes on superheros?  Aha!  Philosophical question...

Anyway, back to the video and tune.  The video is simple, and we see Stevie singing right before our eyes, looking straight at us.  I think she also spins around in the "rain," too, which always made me sad as a child.  Now I think it's cool.  She has a group of perfectly choreographed dancers, which was very typical of the time.  They move together in synchronicity with the dance moves.  Today's videos can have much more complex dancing, but this sure was cool.  It was like a dance team.  As for the song, I think the first thing that struck me this afternoon was the awesome synthesizer in the beginning.  Later in the song, we hear this really cranking kind of electro-funk guitar line.  Between the synthesizers, guitar, and drums, I like to think of this tune as "Stevie Plugged In" or "Stevie Electrified."  It's kind of like plugging a giant power cable into her music.  Oh, and her voice sounds terrific on this, too.  My absolute favorite part is at the very end where she sings "why don't you taaaaaaaaaaaaaake me hoooooooome."  I swear she goes from chest voice to head voice -- just like an opera singer.  You can actually hear bits of this chest/head voice switch right before, when she sings, "well I need a little sympathy...STAND BACK...well I need to be standin' in...STAND BACK..."  It is just completely awesome.  When I was a little girl, I didn't even realize that it was her voice through this entire sequence.  Wow.  Still blows me away.  Supposedly, the tune was inspired by Prince's "Little Red Corvette."  I could almost see the similarity with the use of a synthesizer, but uh, not much more.  I definitely prefer "Stand Back."  No offense, Prince.

Dirty Deeds Done With Sheep

Just found this on the Nights with Alice Cooper Facebook page.  It is hysterical.  Well done.