The Human League's "Don't You Want Me", Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance", Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science", A Flock Of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)", the Buggles' iconic first-video-on-MTV-ever "Video Killed The Radio Star". Anything with a bouncy keyboard line got me going. The synthesizer gave musicians an entirely new palette of sounds and textures to add to their songs, and when it was utilized well, the results were amazing. If there was any one genre that really sunk its hooks (musical hooks, that is) into me, it was synth pop. For a good three years, the Billboard charts were one big genre love fest. Dear God, look at that list! And that's just the merest tiniest tip of the musical iceberg! The early 80s saw rock, pop, soul, and more share the radio airwaves.
the icily hypnotic synth pop of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)". the effortless punk-pop of the Go-Go's "We Got The Beat". the over-the-top rock pomp of Big Country's "Fields Of Fire". the Jamaican-infused rhythms of Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue". the classic balladry of Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes' "Up Where We Belong". the New Wave quirkiness of Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny". the instrumental majesty of Vangelis' "Chariots Of Fire". the theatrical rock histrionics of Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse Of The Heart". Look at the songs that were topping the charts: the sultry Motown pop of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". I don't think there's ever been a more diverse era for popular music before or since. People rag on the early 80s as being a musical wasteland, but that's nonsense. And we succumbed to its programming willingly. MTV came along and presented me and kids like me - the children of the early 80s - with an entire universe of new musical styles genres. How could it not? I was a fourteen year old nerd who was just discovering his love of pop music, living in a radio market that didn't really offer a lot of diversity. But I warn you, dear reader: MTV is going to crop up in these columns a lot. You may remember how I've discussed the impact MTV had on my generation. But then there were some pretty awesome highs, too, like filming football games with my friend Tom, playing basketball and video games with my buddies every Friday night, and getting my first real job (and money!) as a bag boy at Food World. There were some pretty low points, like my family's troubles, the girls I asked out who laughed at me, and the death of my cat. It was an odd mix of awesome and horrible. For me, finding that level of solace means usually means I go running to music.Īnd if there's any one album that can do all that for me, it's the lone release by the fondly remembered New Wave synth pop duo.
I'm looking for something to lift my spirits, refill my happy tank, and put a big, dumb smile on my face. I don't want to sit in the bathtub, praying my cat does me a solid by knocking my George Foreman grill into the water, anymore. All of the craziness and chaos, at both a personal and global level, have put me in a mindset that you could charitably call "gloomy".Īnd I'm tired of it. I fear where the world is ( probably) going. I despair about where the country is ( not) going. I worry about where my career is ( not) going. Like Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger, I've been barely keeping it together for the last several months. But when it's all over, it's very rewarding. It's a painstaking process, sometimes even a painful one.
Normally I get really into the process, listening to the music on repeat as I vomit words out of my head, with the intention of revisiting them later and rearranging and massaging everything until my whimsical reminiscences make some sort of sense. I dig down deep into my soda-brined brain, dredge up a bunch of memories, and wrap them around an album or song that rocked my world back in the day. Even though this is a dinky little column that gets a tiny amount of notice out there in the wilds of the Interwebs, I put a lot of effort into crafting these four-to-five page strolls down memory lane, articles that hopefully entertain, inform, and (if I've done a really good job) even make the reader think a bit. I've been sitting here for about an hour now, staring at this blank page, trying to find an "in" for this week's featured album.
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