"carmé" || rockwell || 1986

Everyone who knows anything about music has heard Rockwell's 1984 track "Somebody's Watching Me," a haunting downtempo funk number about a paranoid dude.

But I'll bet you've never heard any other tracks from that LP, let alone any tracks from his 1986 follow-up, The Genie.

Subtract Michael Jackson singing the hook and add lots of production value, and you'll have Rockwell's not-quite-so-successful single from The Genie, "Carmé." It too falls under the snappy electro funk guise, but it's oh-so-much-more than his only hit. It's slightly more uptempo than "Somebody's Watching Me," but the lyrical content is equally obfuscated. I couldn't tell you what the hell a "Carmé" is, but it sure does make me want to dance.

This is the type of song that you know requires a video clip with bright colors, ridiculous hair, and would probably do best against the backdrop of a shopping mall.

Listen to it here.