"everybody wants to rule the world" || tears for fears || 1986

This song is a bit mainstream for me to post about it, but it's earned its place here.

This is quite simply one of the greatest songs ever recorded.

Hearing this on the radio tonight totally took me to another dimension. It's one of the first songs that I remember listening to very intently as a little kid; I had it on a mixtape that my dad made for me in his studio/office and I listened to it on the bus and in my little tape player at home. I remember the lyric "Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down / When they're through I'll be right behind you" totally blindsiding me with imagery even at that very young age.

Lyrically this song is very important. Right from the opening lyrics of "Welcome to your life / There's no turning back," you know you're dealing with some serious material. There is no fucking around. Congratulations, you're in charge of your own destiny. Now wake up, and get to work. So indicative of the mid-'80s Wall Street era.

The song could be about so many things! It could be about those annoying co-workers who kiss ass and act snidely appropriate at all the right times to get noticed by the boss. It could be an outcry about how capitalism creates greed. It could even simply be about the fact that everyone has a natural inclination to try to take over their own little worlds.

What I love so much about the vocals is how they follow a rigid, almost corporate-like structure in the first couple of verses, and then suddenly erupt into an almost volcanic outpour of emotion at the bridge. It's like the anarchy that breaks down the existing, structured society and restores power to the people. The vocals tone down again for the last verse, but not completely, the singer maintains the edge in his voice for the rest of the song.

It's simply a brilliantly crafted piece of music, and it needs to find its way into your collection.

Now.

Listen

"boyfriend" || alphabeat || 2008

Hooray for well-crafted European pop music!

I'm sad that I haven't stumbled across Alphabeat before now. They've apparently been making records in Denmark for a few years now, but I just came across "Boyfriend" about a month ago. It took the song a few spins to stick with me, but now I'm addicted.

Definitely a throwback to mid-'80s pop music (no complaints from me), "Boyfriend" almost sounds like it was written by a modern girl-pop group in a "write an '80s song" contest.

When the song started, I was digging the groove of the music, and then I was thrown off-kilter by the singer's vocals. They were warbly, just like all modern female pop singers, but not warbly enough to make me turn off the song. (Warbly girl vocals almost always make me immediately shut off a song during the first listen.) The song is also in a minor key, which gives it a very moden touch.

The Europeans are masters of melodic pop music. I'm absolutely exhausted with American pop, because it's all spawned from R&B music, which I've had enough of, and the vocals all suck. Europe seems to put more emphasis on vocal ability, but more importantly they spotlight producers and bands who know how to write quality pop music. That's why Europop doesn't suck.

One final point I'd like to say about modern USA pop vs. modern Europop: If you hear a pop single by a European group and then go buy the album, you're likely to find an album filled with quality songs. This doesn't seem to hold true with modern USA pop albums. For an example, compare Alphabeat's album alongside Madonna's latest Hard Candy. I can get through MAYBE two songs on Hard Candy, but I can find something redeemable about every song on this album.

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"i know ur girlfriend hates me" || annie || 2008

While Crystal Castles' "Crimewave" remains my favorite song of the year thus far overall, I think this is now my favorite pop song.

A friend of mine sent this to me about two months ago, and I started playing it on my club/dance radio show. It's now very easily my most-requested song.

Annie has a knack for making songs that seem to spill over you like cool milk. She's cute, she's sleek, she's Swedish. What's not to love?

"Girlfriend" is a perfect follow-up single to "Chewing Gum," from her last album, which has a similar feel, but is slower. This song cranks it up a bit, making it more likely to hit club floors across the countries. It's about having a guy friend with an overprotective girlfriend, a topic to which I was even able to relate as a male. Nobody likes a bitchy girlfriend.

For some reason, I can't help but make a comparison between this tune and the so-called "sophisti-pop" sound that was cool in the '80s for acts like Swing Out Sister and Scritti Politti. I feel like if those groups were to make modern electropop, it would sound like this.

This song will land in the annals of music as an underground electropop classic. It's just too cute not to love.

Listen

Available On:
I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me	CD5"	Buy It Here

"live to tell" || madonna || 1986

I realize that it's kind of unusual for me to be posting an entry about such a well-known song, but I heard this tune earlier today and suddenly appreciated it in a way that I never had before.

I can't say that I related it to a particular event, situation or instance in my life. It's really just a beautiful song. Madonna gets to show off her voice, and ballads for her are somewhat of a rarity. In fact, this one, "Rain," and "Crazy For You" were the only ballads released as singles until 1998's "You Must Love Me."

Madonna really does perform a hell of a ballad, as is shown on her I'm Breathless album, so I love catching her in this (somewhat) rare form. The lyrics are poppy enough to be accessible, but still offer what may or may not be an interesting window into Madonna's soul. She did, after all, write the song with producer Patrick Leonard.

What's your secret? Will you live to tell it? If not, how will they know?

Listen

Available On:
The Immaculate Collection	Sire	7599-26440-2	CD

"strange but true" || times two || 1988

This is a lost gem from the era of late '80s power-pop.

Times Two evidently hit it big with their cover of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Cecilia," but after hearing this track I'm not really sure why this wasn't a bigger success. It's a much better song, with a catchier hook and a sound that was more fitting to that time. This has powerful bass & synth and sounds more like a rock song than "Cecilia," which leans toward a poppy reggae sound.

The songs on this album were very obviously written with a lot of care. The songwriters and producers really took their time to produce something special, and for that reason it stands out to me as more than a silly pop album. They were trying to appeal to several different crowds of listeners, and the result that they created is somewhat of a pop music smorgasbord. In addition to the power-pop of this track, "Hey Mr. D.J.," and "3 Into 2," and the reggae tones of "Cecilia," we hear glorious pop ballads that are quite soulful in "Only My Pillow Knows" and "L.O.D." They even tap into youthful electro energy on "Romeo," which could have easily been a floorfiller at school dances.

The album is very obviously geared toward emotional youth, but that doesn't make it any less brilliant. It's incredibly well written and well produced, and I'm sad that we never got to see a followup.

Maybe "Strange But True" was a big radio hit on the coasts, as I hadn't ever heard it until I got this single in a lot of 7-inch singles that I bought on eBay about a year ago. I'm honestly surprised that it's not heard on the radio today on '80s flashback stations, as it seems like a perfect sign of the times, in addition to being a quality pop song.

Listen

Available On:
X2	Reprise	9 25624-2	CD

traxxlisting #2 :: albums that need to be (re)released on cd

I will preface this Traxxlisting by saying this: If you know something that I don't, and any of these albums listed below are actually on CD somewhere (except Ta Mara), PLEASE drop a comment and let me know!

Top 7 Albums That Should Be Released On CD

7. 10¢ A Dance by The Flirts

I'm actually surprised that this album hasn't ever made it to CD. It contains the classic track "Passion," which has been sampled by countless DJs, including the legendary Felix da Housecat. "Jukebox" is a classic as well, but it's been released on a bunch of compilation CDs, as it's somewhat of an '80s radio classic. The rest of the album is beachy surf-party-rock fun, but "Jukebox" and "Passion" alone justify a CD release of this album.



6. Einzelhaft by Falco

If It weren't for an old friend of mine, I never would have appreciated Falco's musical talent. Everybody who knows '80s music is familiar with his track "Rock Me Amadeus," but few remember that he originally recorded the song "Der Kommissar" before it was made famous by the group After The Fire just one year later. Aside from that track though, there are several golden early rap numbers on this LP. My personal favorite is "Zuviel Hitze" (German for "Too Much Heat").



5. Flashbeagle

An absolute favorite from my childhood! Snoopy goes flashdance as he sneaks out at night and breakdances in the local discotheque. Mega '80s and totally tubular! The title track would have fit right into Top 40 radio in 1983. The female vocals on it (and the other songs on this record) are sung by Desiree Goyette, who also holds a special place in my heart for doing music for some Garfield specials as well. She's a talented lady with a beautiful voice. She now runs her own publishing company.

This record is an absolute piece of '80s gold and needs to be preserved forever in a digital format. DO IT, WARNER BROS.!



4. Trans-Atlantic by Jon St. James

A classic synthpop record, and one of St. James' two solo albums, both of which are genius. This one sticks more to a solid synthpop/new wave sound, while his second album, Fast Impressions, was more of an exploration in MIDI programming and instrumentals. This one sports some killer vocals and melodies, and an awesome version of the Q classic "Playback," sung as a duet with Miss Q herself.

I'm not surprised that this one hasn't made it to CD, but I think it's time.



3. Ta Mara & The Seen by Ta Mara & The Seen

I'm cheating a bit on this one, as it has indeed been pressed on a CD, but only in Japan. When it's on eBay it sells for ridiculous amounts of money.

That's simply not right! This is a classic piece of Minneapolis funk, and it deserves a re-release. The fact that Jesse Johnson produced it merits a re-release automatically!

"Everybody Dance" is available on a couple of compilations, but I've never seen "Affecttion" on one, and people seem to remember it just as much. "U Turn Me Up" is another great tune. These all need to be on a CD!



2. Wolf & Wolf by Wolf & Wolf

Every single track on this record is brilliant. It's from the golden era of new wave. It's a perfect blend of electronic new wave and new wave rock. Bottom line, it makes you want to dance your ass off. I'd love to have this one on CD so I can crank it super loud without hearing "s" distortion, and so I can hear the full instrumental quality of "Talk Of The Town," "Katmandu," and "Don't Take The Candy."



1. Playback by SSQ

Executives at EMI Records, heed my words: If you re-release this album on CD, it will fly off of the shelves. This album has such a cult following that I'm stunned that it's never been pressed on a CD. Maybe I'm biased because I consider it to be the soundtrack of my life, but I'm not going to accept that that's the only reason I want this on a CD. I think these songs deserve to be heard by today's ears again, because they're the masterwork of the artists that worked on them.

There you have it!

"dancing on my grave" || ghostland observatory || 2008

Another cool modern track that fits nicely into this blog.

Ghostland Observatory are an indie electro group from Austin, TX. Robotique Majestique is their third album, and by far their most solid work.

This song sounds like it's the missing track from the soundtrack to The Return Of The Living Dead. It's part punk, part electro, part party, and definitely very '80s.

All in all, a fun song that I hope becomes a classic.

Listen

Available On:
Robotique Majestique	Trashy Moped	TMR-004	CD

"the honeythief" || hipsway || 1987

Hipsway produced two albums of unique funk-synth music in the later 1980s. They sound like a cross between a new wave band and a '50s/'60s blues tribute group. Like, imagine if Huey Lewis & the News teamed up with Scritti Politti.

Needless to say, the sound was (and still is) unique. In fact, the only other group I can ever think to compare them to is Black Britain, who are unfortunately equally obscure.

This one single received considerable radio airplay in California in 1987, so many folks who were in high school in that era will recognize it. It's a shame that their second album didn't do so well, or they might have continued to make music. In fact, the two original founding members of the band were gone before the second record hit shelves, so it appears that they had one foot out the door anyway.

This track is cool for what it is. It's another of the many lost gems of the 1980s that get buried under piles of ridiculous pop music.

Listen

Available On:
Hipsway	Columbia	CK 40522	CD