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Sounds Like the '80s College Rock, Alternative Music, and More |
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Tuesday, October 6, 2020 "Everybody Wants Some!!" by Van HalenThere were three music-related rumors I remember hearing on the playground in Jacksonville, IL: 1. Rod Stewart had to be rushed to the ER to have his stomach pumped. 2. There were multiple versions of KISS on the road at the same time. 3. Van Halen was actually KISS, performing without the makeup. I won't dignify the first rumor with any comments (if you don't know that one already, don't Google it), though the second wasn't entirely implausible. The Harlem Globetrotters generally kept two teams on the road (though they didn't hide the fact) and given Gene Simmons's zest for marketing the band and making money, it's almost surprising that he didn't try to double or triple the band's touring income via some ringer bands. But the third one was downright insane. No offense to Ace Frehley, but the Spaceman's guitar playing wasn't that spectacular. Yet Eddie Van Halen's was unworldly, and that was apparent from any random 30 seconds of a Van Halen song. His two-handed tapping technique got all the attention back in the day, but it was the riffs, along with the weird noises he made on his guitar, that were far more appealing to me. "Everybody Wants Some!!" has some of the best examples: Van Halen remains something of an anomaly in my music collection -- there's not a lot of the hard rock that inspired the band, nor any of the '80s hair metal bands that were the more slavish VH imitators. But I never thought of Van Halen as a hard rock or metal act, they always seemed like a pop band to me, one that didn't sound like anyone else. Given the tributes I've seen from friends on Facebook today, I'm guessing there are whole lot of folks who feel the same. R.I.P. Eddie Van Halen. link 0 comments Monday, January 14, 2019 "I Believe In You" by Talk TalkLike the Reivers post, here's another '80s song that sounds nothing like the '80s to me. I'm a bit late to the party on this one -- I once gave the "Spirit of Eden" album a quick listen after reading a Tape Op article about its recording, but that was pretty much it until I listened to it again this afternoon after seeing this Pitchfork rave. While Thom Yorke really doesn't sound that much like Mark Hollis, the sound of the band really predicts Bends/OK Computer-era Radiohead. So much so that I can't think it wasn't a HUGE influence on the Radiohead. Especially this track. Like some of the other songs on the album, the strongest hook isn't the vocal line, but the ethereal keyboard part: link 0 comments Thursday, August 31, 2017 "End of the Day" by the ReiversThe Reivers were a GREAT band from Austin, TX that never broke through (and for some reason none of their music is available on Spotify). But I can assure you they received a ton of in-store play at Appletree Records' Springfield, IL location in 1989 and 1990. (Though I almost feel guilty about branding them as an '80s band -- their songs all sound timeless to me.) The title track from the band's 1989 album: Labels: 1989, The Reivers link 0 commentsThursday, December 1, 2016 "Radio Free Europe" by R.E.M.I can't say I jumped on the R.E.M. bandwagon early on, but I was aware of the band near the beginning of its career. During high school I subscribed to the late great Trouser Press magazine and one issue included a flexi-disc of "Wolves, Lower" from R.E.M.'s 1982 Chronic Town E.P. I liked the song, but didn't give the band much thought beyond that. While I must have heard the debut album at some point during the following year, it didn't stick. Then, as the spring semester was ending in 1985, I slipped into my college radio station and recorded the Murmur and Reckoning LPs on a cheap Radio Shack Concertape cassette. I listened to that cassette dozens of times over the summer and was all-in on R.E.M. from that point on, at least through the early 1990s. (For years this was the personal anecdote I'd use to refute the "home taping is killing the music industry" claim, as that dubbed cassette resulted in my spending hundreds of dollars on R.E.M. LPs, CDs, and concert tickets.) The band's debut single, as re-made for the Murmur album in 1983: link 0 comments Saturday, September 3, 2016 "Just Like Heaven" by the CureI never saw the Cure live, but have very fond memories of watching a local band (The Angry Neighbors) perform an excellent cover of this song at a Springfield, IL bar in either 1989 or 1990. At the time, I was recording a demo tape for them in my basement studio and they also included a cover of my band the Beyond's song "Like This" in their set. As far as I know, that remains the sole cover version of a song I had a hand in writing! Labels: 1987, The Beyond, The Cure link 0 commentsFriday, September 2, 2016 "Ashes to Ashes" by David BowieA belated R.I.P. to Mr. David Jones: Labels: 1980, David Bowie link 0 commentsTuesday, April 19, 2016 "Oblivious" by Aztec CameraThis might have been my favorite album released in 1983: Labels: 1983, Aztec Camera link 0 commentsTuesday, July 7, 2015 "Chamber of Hellos" by Wire TrainYou really can't wrong with a song that repeats "Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello..." Labels: 1983, Wire Train link 0 commentsTuesday, January 20, 2015 "Space Age Love Song" by A Flock of SeagullsThe hair might have tarnished the band's legacy, but A Flock of Seagulls had a few great songs. Including this one: Labels: 1982, A Flock of Seagulls link 0 commentsSaturday, January 3, 2015 "What Difference Does It Make?" by the SmithsHow did I take so long before posting something by the Smiths? Labels: 1984, The Smiths link 0 commentsFriday, January 2, 2015 "Catch My Fall" by Billy IdolI heard this song on satellite radio in a rental car a few weeks ago -- it sounded better than I remembered! However, having grown up in a non-MTV household, I didn't see the video until 2014: Labels: 1983, Billy Idol link 0 commentsMonday, September 8, 2014 "New Year's Day" by U2I can't help thinking there's a parallel universe where U2 broke up in 1983 and the band is best known today for the airplay this song receives every January 1st: link 0 comments Tuesday, September 2, 2014 "Drive Somewhere" by the Vulgar BoatmenAfter moving to Chicago in 1990, I'd swear I heard this song every day on WXRT, hence my assumption that it came out that year. But the song (and album) was actually released in 1989, so it makes the cut for this blog! Labels: 1989, The Vulgar Boatmen link 0 commentsSaturday, August 30, 2014 "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by the ProclaimersThis song was on a mix CD we took on a recent vacation, so I heard it at least 20 times over a two-week period. Two thoughts: 1. For a track from 1988,* the production has aged VERY well. 2. If you overdubbed shouts of "Hey!" and "Ho!" throughout the song, it'd sound downright modern. *While released in 1988, this song is probably considered by most listeners to be a 90s song, as it gained a wider audience when it was used in the 1993 film Benny & Joon. Labels: 1988, The Proclaimers link 0 commentsFriday, August 29, 2014 "Going Down to Liverpool" by Katrina and the WavesThe Katrina and the Waves version of this Kimberley Rew-penned song wipes the floor with the Bangles' cover version: Labels: 1985, Katrina and the Waves link 0 commentsThursday, August 28, 2014 "The Unguarded Moment" by the ChurchWhile I was aware of the Church before the band's 1988 breakthrough hit "Under the Milky Way," I didn't discover this gem (from their 1981 debut album) until a few years ago: Labels: 1981, The Church link 0 commentsWednesday, August 27, 2014 "I Melt with You" by Modern EnglishAs a parent, I don't want to turn into this guy, but I'm thrilled that my daughter loves this song: Labels: 1982, Modern English link 0 commentsTuesday, August 26, 2014 "Gloria" by U2U2's 1981 sophomore album is generally considered inferior to the band's 1980 debut release. But it was the first one I owned and -- probably because of the purchase order -- remains my favorite: link 0 comments Monday, August 25, 2014 "Don't Change" by INXSStill my all-time favorite INXS song: link 0 comments Sunday, August 24, 2014 "Years Later" by Cactus World NewsA 1986 single from an Irish band that should have been much, much bigger: Labels: 1986, Cactus World News link 0 comments |
Looking for some 1980s music? Search by year: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 Or search by artist: Aztec Camera, David Bowie, Cactus World News, The Church, The Cure, A Flock of Seagulls, Billy Idol, INXS, Katrina and the Waves, Modern English, The Proclaimers, R.E.M., The Smiths, U2, The Vulgar Boatmen, Wire Train Listen to every song posted on this blog in a Spotify playlist. Links Electronic 80s Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 80s Slicing Up Eyeballs Recent Posts "Everybody Wants Some!!" by Van Halen "I Believe In You" by Talk Talk "End of the Day" by the Reivers "Radio Free Europe" by R.E.M. "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure "Ashes to Ashes" by David Bowie "Oblivious" by Aztec Camera "Chamber of Hellos" by Wire Train "Space Age Love Song" by A Flock of Seagulls "What Difference Does It Make?" by the Smiths |