We Didn't Start the Fire

Well, since I wrote about Marconi in my last post, I was inspired to look at another 80s tune with historical names -- lots of historical names.  "We Didn't Start the Fire" was written by Billy Joel in 1989, which is much later than I originally thought.  I guess it works out well since it is a historical retrospective montage, so it makes sense to have it end in the last year of a decade.  Hard to believe that 24 years have gone by since it was written!  Wow.  Anyway, this is not the kind of tune you can easily sing in your car or at karaoke, but nevertheless, it would be a challenge in both cases (especially karaoke).  Have you ever sung karaoke, finding yourself scrambling to get all the words in as they go by the screen?  I admit that I have.  It's pretty fun.

I think we all know that this song is kind of a giant poem with some accompaniment rather than a song in the melodic sense.  Does it have a melody?  Well, only if you count the chorus.  Meanwhile, the video for this tune is awesome.  I was blown away by the quality of the video in terms of direction, acting, etc.  It seems to have a plot as well, since we follow a family through all these decades.  I watched it and thought, "Hey, isn't that Marlee Matlin in there?"  Come to find out, it is!  She was the one burning her bra in the '60s/70s part and thumbing her nose to her family.  I think she may also have been the girl on the table getting her prom dress hemmed just before the bra burning scene, but I can't really confirm this.  Rewinding just a but further, I have to say that I was just a bit bugged that the mom in the 50s/60s part is popping pills because of her child playing violin.  That's not fair!  I guess I never noticed that when I was younger, because back in '89, I had never even seen stringed instruments up close and personal.  It's alright, though.  We'll let that one slide in the name of art.  As for Mr. Joel, well, we know he is a musical genius, and this song is just kind of a neat little anomaly in his catalog.  I'll probably write about more of his songs later, but for now, we can all challenge ourselves to sing along with this!

We Built This City

So, the other night I was listening to Pandora radio on my computer, and "We Built This City" came on.  It's not surprising since I listen to "80s Radio" on there 100 percent of the time.  I have to say that I believe my perspective has changed over the years, and I guess I hadn't noticed until I heard this song again.  It was a HUGE hit in the '80s, specifically in 1985 when it was released.  I remember thinking it was so cool because it had a radio announcer in it.  Turns out that was an MTV exec playing a radio announcer, but nevertheless, it was awesome.  The song seemed to be a rock anthem in many respects -- not really like a hard rock song that is so popular it becomes an anthem, but rather a song supporting rock music.  It's upbeat, and kind of a "hey, we're not going anywhere" type of song.

The lyrics are pretty interesting, and not really complicated or elaborate, but just very thorough for a rock tune.  I guess it's more of a pop tune.  Well, maybe it's best classified as "Top 40" for the day.  Anyway, I thought for years they were singing "My Coney plays the mamba..."  My Coney?  Like Coney Island?  I wasn't sure, and I certainly couldn't understand why those would be the lyrics, but that's what I thought!  Much later, I discovered simply from listening, that it was "Marconi plays the mamba...."  AHA!  Okay, that makes much more sense.  Marconi, father/inventor of the radio.  Yup.  Got it.  There are a couple of other lines I misheard, but that was the funniest.  I did hear "corporation games," though, which makes me say "right on!" especially since I can understand that now.  "Someone's always playing corporation games...who cares they're always changing corporation names."  I can certainly hear and relate to those lyrics very well today.

This tune does make me smile, and it is pretty "fun," but I've discovered "Somebody to Love" by listening to Nights with Alice Cooper.  I think I probably heard it a few times in my youth (I seem to remember my parents having that record), but now I can really appreciate it from a musical and lyrical standpoint.  I think it's a better representation of the root of Starship -- Jefferson Airplane.  I'm not sure of the whole evolution, but I do like this one so much more now.  So, I've included them both.  Hope you enjoy the retrospective.

Reason to Believe

While scrolling through some Facebook posts today, I discovered that it is Rod Stewart's birthday.  Yes -- January 10, 1945.  That makes Mr. Stewart 68 years young ;) As cheesy as that may sound, he certainly does seem to have a young spirit and a true zest for life.  I hope he is having a wonderful celebration surrounded by friends and family.

Meanwhile, I had to pick a Rod Stewart song to honor the occasion.  I looked through a couple of titles, and I know that I've already posted about some of my favorites.  So, well, um -- I chose a tune he didn't write.  "Reason to Believe" was written by Tim Hardin in 1965, and Rod recorded it in 1971.  He then recorded it again in 1993 for MTV Unplugged.  I guess it didn't surprise me too much when I discovered that he hadn't written the song, because it's all about heartbreak.  I can't imagine Rod ever being heartbroken, but perhaps he was.  I think he recounted one woman who broke his heart before he proposed to her, but I lost track.  I should read his memoir.  Anyway, he does have some songs about heartbreak -- sort of.  I posted about "My Heart Can't Tell You No," which is more of an unrequited love tune.  Nevertheless, the video of "Reason to Believe" from MTV Unplugged was very touching and an excellent performance, so I thought I'd post it here.  He and Ron Wood have a couple of laughs beforehand, and it's all very relaxed.  I think this may have been one of the best recordings I've heard of his music.  On that note, Happy Birthday, Mr. Stewart -- and all the best wishes for many more!

Let's Groove

We're turning the time capsule way back to 1981 with Earth, Wind and Fire's "Let's Groove."  I feel a bit conflicted about this one, because it was written in 1981, but it sounds as if it could have been written sometime in the mid to later '70s.  No problem there -- it's all good as they say.  The video for the song seems pretty standard for the day with it's kind of "space aged" feel and visual effects, but the costumes are still feeling pretty '70s to me.  I'm not complaining, though.  The '70s were a terrific decade -- at least from what I remember from being quite young back then.

Anyway, I am not sure how this groove could not get you to move, because it is kind of infectious in a good way -- like the groove bug or something.  So stand up!  You're looking good, you're out of sight.  How come we don't say that anymore?  Kind of reminds me of J.J. Evans from "Good Times" -- dynomite!  If this tune does not get you up off your feet with a spontaneous urge to boogie down, then I am not sure anything would!  And the horn section on this tune really is outta site!  I'd write more, but I think I'll just let this groove get me to move :)

Something Happened on the Way to Heaven

I have to admit that I wasn't a huge Phil Collins/Genesis fan in the 80s, but there were a couple of songs that sparked my attention back then.  Now that I am older, I can certainly appreciate his music and unyielding talent.  He is a true master of the musical craft.

So, something happened on the way to heaven, and the story unfolds through the lyrics.  Actually, it's quite simple -- he had a love, lost her, and now he wants her back.  How many times can he say he's sorry?!  Well, just a couple, and we hear it in the chorus -- which is also where Phil Collins is supported by the harmonies of his back-up singers.  Ah yes, the back-up singers...  Back in the day, many stars broke onto the scene via that route.  There certainly was no shame in that gig, because it either led to a solo career or the simple joy of joining forces with great singers day after day.  In addition to the supporting vocalists in this song, there is an amazing brass section that I just could not miss as an instrumentalist myself.  Wow.  That is some terrific trumpet and a really tight section.  Blows my mind that they make it seem so easy...  And speaking of easy, the intro of this song sounds quite similar to "Easy Lover," giving you the feeling that something of epic proportions is about to happen.  Will it be Phil Collins flying in on a plane with Phillip Bailey like in the "Easy Lover" video?  No, but it is something better -- song writing of epic proportions with a dynamite instrumental and vocal ensemble to support Mr. Collins.  Kudos big time here.   I don't quite get the whole dog thing in the video, although s/he is pretty cute.  I think the live performance element in the video would have been just fine by itself, but maybe something happened on the way to production, and the dog's role was born.  I'm not sure, but I certainly am curious...

Couldn't help thinking of Rowlf when the dog played the piano in this video.

Armageddon It

Well, I am long, long overdue for a post here at Becky's World.  I took a bit of a hiatus over the holidays and will try to get back into the swing of daily posts.  Meanwhile, since we all made it to 2013, I thought it would be the perfect chance to talk about one of my favorite Def Leppard tunes, "Armageddon It."  Yes, it is a play on words (Are you gettin' it?  Yes, Armageddon it).  Pretty cool, and with this awesomely guitar-saturated rock anthem, "Armageddon It" is the perfect phrase to have fun with in this tune.  In fact, it seems pretty clear as to what the song references (in terms of "gettin' it), so why not take charge of the opportunity to play around with words?  If you read the lyrics, it seems to be an overture to someone who seems all fired up and ready but then hesitates to "trigger the gun."  So, nothing left to do at this point but cut to the chase:

Gimme all of your lovin', ev'ry little bit
Gimme all that you got, ev'ry bit of it
Ev'ry bit of your lovin', oh, c'mon live a bit
Never want it to stop

Pretty '80s looking jacks here

Makes perfect sense to me!  And you just have to love a song that uses the term "lovin'."  Yeah, only in rock lyrics can one be so creative.  I mean, I don't think that would be realistic in casual conversation...  So, it's great to hear it in this tune.  I must admit that I never realized that "jumpin' jack" was part of the lyrics, though.  Kind of reminds me of playing jacks back in the '80s.  Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this tune and video as much as I do.  Gotta love the big bear slippers on Joe Elliott at the end of the video, too.  I think I may have bought those for my dad or brother back in the day.  I'm definitely gettin' every bit of the nostalgia from this video...  Thank you, Def Leppard -- rock on!

Bad Reputation

I wasn't sure what to write about this evening, so I started browsing through some tunes from 1980.  Have to say that I wasn't too excited about any one of them in particular tonight.  In fact, I think I found some of them to be a little on the cheesy side.  It's no fault to the singers, though, because even someone like Diana Ross can get stuck with a tune that is just downright silly.  Sometimes, it just happens...

Anyway, somehow I came across Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation," which was written just one year later in 1981.  Now, this is a classic tune that just about sums it up for me.  Yeah, I don't give a d@mn 'bout my reputation either, so this is perfect!  I'm just a clarinet player and not anywhere near as rockingly awesome as Joan Jett, but this message is probably shared by more than you'd think.  I noticed recently that Miley Cyrus covered this tune, and I even saw a video of her performing with Joan Jett.  Poor Joan.  No offense to anyone's creativity or artistic freedom, but Miley Cyrus?  Come on.  All I can think about is bubble gum and popcorn.  I just don't see Miley coming anywhere close to the renegade spirit of Joan Jett.  Teenaged rebellion just isn't the same, and I don't think Miley's hairdos or tattoos really are all that shockingly rebellious.  Anyway, back to Joan Jett.  SHE ROCKS!  Yup -- that about says it all.  The song was inspired by her search for a record company and the advice given to her by her producer Kenny Laguna.  She wasn't going to change for anyone, regardless of how many companies wouldn't sign her because of her "bad reputation."  Yeah -- right on, Joan.  I hear you loud and clear.  That message is so meaningful today -- and probably shared by even more than it was in 1981.  Let's face it, there is so much nonsense in the world today, and so many people talking about what is politically correct or not. Sometimes, you just have to say, "I don't give a d@mn" about what people think.  "A girl can do what she wants to do, and that's what I'm gonna do!"  You can, too -- just turn this tune on and crank it up!