Tag Archives: 1984

The Poetry of The Style Council: Sweet Sounds, Dark Thoughts

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The first few times I heard this classic by The Style Council in 1984 I assumed it was a love song. I thought the singer was lamenting his inability to stay faithful to his girlfriend. Or maybe he was only admitting to having a wandering eye? In defense of my younger self I’d say this was an easy mistake to make. The song lures you in with its sweet and smooth British soul harmonies. It’s Motown via South London.  But Paul Weller is asking you to come for the groove and stay for the lyrics – an angry, sad, rebellious mediation on taking responsibility for injustices in the world. Downer? Yep. But have no fear, if the lyrics have you feeling low, the music will lift you back up.

Teardrops turn to children who’ve never had the time

To commit the sins they pay for through another’s evil mind

The love after the hate

the love we leave too late

I wish we’d wake up one day and everyone feel moved

But we’re caught up in the dailies and an ever changing mood.

 

Michael Jackson’s Thriller: Let the Truth Unfurl (Part 1)

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The first single from Michael Jackson’s Thriller was released in October of 1982. So how is it possible to feature that album on this blog, which is dedicated to the music of 1984? It may seem like a Wikipedia mistake, but Thriller’s success was so massive it dominated the charts for almost two years. In 1983 – the album spawned SIX more top 10 singles. In January of 1984 the album’s seventh single, “Thriller,” would reach number one (thanks, in large part, to what many consider the greatest music video ever created). In February 1984 Thriller would win 8 Grammy Awards propelling the album to stay at number one for the first four months of the year! In total – the album was on the charts for 80 consecutive weeks! So what do we talk about when we talk about Thriller? All of the impressive stats are astounding, but the album would not have achieved that level of success if not for the music. And the videos. And that album cover.

And of course we have to talk about the Man who created the album (or shall we give proper credit and refer to the Men – Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton in addition to Michael Jackson?). Thriller ended its reign at the top during the third week of April, 1984, so to mark the occasion I’ve assembled three MJ experts. The sincerity of their love for and breadth of knowledge about the Jacksons is unsurpassed. They also happen to be my good friends so this isn’t the first time we’ve had a couple of drinks and spent hours engaged in Jackson related discussions. The four of us came into our Jackson obsessions at different times (for me it is the memory of watching The Jackson 5 cartoon and the Jackson Variety show and fantasizing about being Randy’s twin brother and experiencing the pure joy of having Randy and Janet as my peers and Michael and Jermaine as older brothers).

Here’s the first part of our Thriller talk.

Sean: I can remember the first time I heard Thriller – I don’t know about you guys – but I can remember being at my uncle’s house, picking up the album cover, staring at the picture and then opening the gatefold – and I remember hearing “Wanna Be Starting Somethin'” and I felt like I had never heard anything like that before.

Christine: My grandmother bought me two VHS tapes of the “Thriller” video. I was 5 years old maybe and in the same way we wore out the Wizard of Oz – we wore out the “Thriller” video.

Sean: Do you think anyone will ever beat Thriller’s records? Will any other album sell as much or be number one for so long?

Norman: No – I think it’s impossible with the modern model of music consumption – it just cant happen. Virtually impossible – it’s like saying can any TV show beat the Roots ratings record.

Sean: So what do you guys think – was Michael chasing that level of commercial success or was he trying to create an artistically great album?

Christine: Commercial success – 100%

Sean: Really?

Christine: He was so hungry after Off the Wall. He was so hungry.

(Note: Off the Wall sold 20 million copies but Michael was still very disappointed. He believed the record should have been much more commercially and critically successful and he became depressed when OTW did not win the Grammy for Record of the Year).

Shana: I have to wonder if Off the Wall had done as well as Michael wanted it to if anything remotely approaching Thriller would have been his follow up because I feel like he kind of did it in attempt to really reach everyone. You can’t say that you don’t like at least one song on Thriller. I don’t know if he would have had that same fire under his butt and had been that pissed off if not for Off the Wall.

Sean: Lightning round – favorite track on Thriller. Shana!

Shana: “The Lady in My Life”

Norman: It changes everyday but either “The Lady in My Life” or “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” is one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs ever! And so is “The Lady in My Life”.

Christine: I agree  – “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'”. … and “The Lady in My Life”.

Sean: “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” – that’s no surprise to anyone who knows me.

Christine: The song is about La Toya.

Shana: So SHE says

Norman: I heard it was about Liza Minnelli and her time at studio 54.

Christine: It’s about La Toya.

Shana: La Toya says its about her, but do we believe La Toya?

Norman: It is not about her! It is not about La Toya – he loved his sister!

Christine: He (Michael) has said it’s about her!

Sean: Wait – ‘if you can’t feed the baby/then don’t have the baby’. Who is pregnant?!? I feel like the song is all about unwanted pregnancy and Michael is being a little too judgmental. Was La Toya pregnant?

michael-and-la-toya-jackson

“I believe in me/so you believe in you”

(Note: We spend the next 5 minutes debating whether the song was written about La Toya Jackson. The discussion veers into the OWN docu-soap Life with Latoya and the revelation that La Toya is a 60 year old virgin. Christine stands firm on her belief the song is about La Toya and some of the Jackson’s sisters-in-law).

 

 

Shana: I have this theory, in a weird way Michael pioneered what we now know as ‘House’ without people paying attention to it. Not just like in songs like “Shake Your Body Down to the Ground” and other percussion driven things but on each of his albums.  Whether intentionally or not he created a moment of possession that is really subliminal but it’s always there – as follows: Off the Wall – “Get on the Floor” – he has that breakdown where it’s all just like panting and shit and it’s very nod to the mother land I supposed. Thriller would be Ma Ma Se Ma Ma Sa Ma Ma Coo Sa / Ma Ma Se Ma Ma Sa Ma Ma Coo Sa (from “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'”) and it just goes on and on and on in a way that most artists would not let it go on.

Sean: You’re right, it just goes on for minutes – and you want it to go on for even longer.

Shana: And (on Bad) “Smooth Criminal” – that séance moment in the video. Where they all sway and start screaming. I feel like it’s this part of him that no one really talks about.

Sean: You know what I love about that theory – a lot of people criticize Michael for abandoning his black roots . . .

Shana: Totally not true.

Sean: but musically he didn’t abandon his black roots.

Norman: Not at all

Sean: Do you think Thriller is a perfect album? My answer would be ‘no’ because for me – on a perfect album every single song is amazing and perfect. As great as it is, Thriller doesn’t pass that test. It’s great, but not perfect.

Norman: What song do you skip?

Christine: I skip the track ‘Thriller.’

Sean/Norman/Shana: – What?!?!?!!?

Norman: First of all Christine don’t ever say that again – “Thriller”, the song, is amazing!

Shana: I’m not having it.

Norman: The breakdown in that song . . .

Shana: At the end?

Norman: Yes!

Shana & Norman: (singing the breakdown together in perfect harmony):  ‘Thriller  . .Thriiiiler’

Norman: It gives me chills and it makes me run faster on the treadmill. You know what song I skip? “The Girl is Mine”.

Shana: I skip that too

Sean: You know that was the first single from the album.

Norman: I did not know that.

Shana: I always forget that song is on the album.

Christine: That song is so good!

Shana: Sean – what’s the one you skip?

Sean: Let’s rundown the album

thriller back cover

Almost Perfect?

Shana: “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'”

Sean: Perfect.

Norman: “Baby Be Mine”

Sean: Amazing.

Norman: “The Girl is Mine”.

Sean: Fine.

Norman: “Thriller”

Sean: Yes.

Norman: “Beat it!”

Sean: YES!

Norman: “Billie Jean”

Sean: Brilliant!

Norman: “Human Nature!”

Sean: The best!

Norman: “P.Y.T.” and then “The Lady in My Life”

Sean: Oh – so I I’m taking my earlier statement back – it is a perfect album.

Shana: So you like, “The Girl is Mine”?

Sean: its catchy , its sweet so  . . .

Norman: I always skip it. ALWAYS.

Shana: Me too. I never listen to it.

Sean: So you are saying Thriller is not perfect?

Shana: I say it is because every song isolated (except for The Girl is Mine) is perfect alone.  But I feel like you release an album because the songs need to be released together and I think those song don’t need to be together. They could easily be singles that were all just released. I think I’m really just searching to figure out what’s the one thing conceptually that’s driving all those songs… Do you feel like when you listen to Thriller, when you listen to it straight through – what’s the identity of that album – what is it saying about him  what statement is he making with Thriller conceptually.

Norman: For me that album reminds me so much of my older sisters who were teenagers when that was out. It was a time when I really really looked up to them and thought they were the coolest people on the planet. They loved it! So for me when I listen to it I hear 80’s black youth. That’s what the album says to me  – the sounds, the instruments, some of the slang –  it’s all a time capsule of 80’s black youth.

Sean: Maybe the theme of the album is : Michael Jackson – our greatest musical mind and he’s saying, ‘here are all of the genres I love  and I’m going to absorb them and emit them back through my lens.” Maybe that’s the theme – there is so much different music he loved and he was drawn to. But he was going to make every genre his own.

Coming up in Part 2 – after a few more drinks we discuss Thriller’s videos and the unbelievable lengths Jackson’s team had to go to get those videos on MTV. Plus why Thriller was Michael Jackson’s ultimate sacrifice.

You Might Also Like my Countdown of the Best Post-Thriller Michael Jackson Songs in 1984:

Michael Jackson at his best in 1984

#2 – Centipede

#3 – Say Say Say

#4 – Tell Me I’m Not Dreamin’ (Too Good To Be True)

#5 – Farewell My Summer Love

#6 – Somebody’s Watching Me

The Poetry of The Smiths

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The Smiths

Continuing the celebration of national poetry month and my tribute to the music of 1984 I present lyrics from The Smiths debut album. Yes – The Smiths debuted in 1984! Are we beginning to see the abundance of musical gifts 1984 bestowed upon us?

Punctured bicycle

on a hillside desolate

Will nature make a man of me yet?

When in this charming car

this charming man

Why pamper life’s complexity

when the leather runs so smooth on the passenger seat?

I would go out tonight

but I haven’t got a stitch to wear

This man said, ‘it’s gruesome

that someone so handsome should care”

 

The Poetry of Annie Lennox

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herecomstherainContinuing the celebration of national poetry month and my tribute to the music of 1984 I present lyrics from the one and only, my personal diva, Miss Annie Lennox. More on this song, the album and the band in future posts.

Here comes the rain again

Raining in my head like a tragedy

Tearing me apart like a new emotion

I want to breathe in the open wind

I want to kiss like lovers do

I want to dive into your ocean

Is it raining with you?

The Poetry of RUN-D.M.C.

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Run-D.M.C.

I’m celebrating national poetry month and the great music of 1984. These lyrics are courtesy of the great RUN-D.M.C from their self-titled debut album.

 

 

 

 

Unemployment at a record high

People coming, people going, people born to die

Don’t ask me, because I don’t know why

But it’s like that, and that’s the way it is

———————————————————

One thing I know is that life is short

So listen up homeboy, give this a thought

The next time someone’s teaching why don’t you get taught

It’s like that (what?) and that’s the way it is!

 The Poetry of Chrissie Hynde

ltc

I’d like to celebrate national poetry month and keep the theme of this blog going by featuring some of my favorite lyrics from pop songs in 1984. The following lyrics are courtesy of Ms. Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders’ My City Was Gone.

I went back to Ohio

But my pretty countryside

Had been paved down the middle

By a government that had no pride

The farms of Ohio

had been replaced by shopping malls

And Muzak filled the air

From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls

Screamer of the Week: Heaven by The Psychedelic Furs. This week in 1984.

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Every week the Long Island radio station WLIR would allow viewers to vote and choose the best new song of the week.  The station’s DJ’s (Donna Donna, Malibu Sue, Larry the Duck) would each rally behind one song and attempt to convince listeners to pick their ‘Screamer of the Week’. The DJ’s were passionate and knowledgable and they helped shape the musical taste of countless teens in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island.

This week In 1984 The Psychedelic Furs’ Heaven was the Screamer of the Week. The single came from the band’s fourth studio album Mirror Moves which also contained Here Come Cowboys and my favorite – The Ghost in You. This is a case where the song is much better than the video. Heaven, the song, is haunting, sad and poetic. The video – well – there’s lots of spinning. And lots of rain.

Ah, but what a gorgeous song. Annie Lennox covered it 1995 (of course her version is equally haunting).

While conducting research for this post I discovered the band is on tour right now on the east coast. If anyone sees them please send a review in the comments. Also – SCREAM when they play Heaven to remind them of what they accomplished 30 years ago.

Additional Screamer of the Week posts:

The Thompson Twins – You Take Me Up

Prince and the Revolution – When Doves Cry

R.E.M. – Pretty Persuasion

Cameo was Strange – and I Liked It.

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In 1984 Cameo’s, ‘She’s Strange’ sat on top of Billboard’s R&B charts for the entire month of April. The tune combined elements of disco, funk, rap and R&B and in addition to being a catchy, sexy pop song – it served as one of the year’s best anthems for the freaks and eccentrics of the time.

"Now I'm a different guy/ And I don't compare to many"

“Now I’m a different guy/ And I don’t compare to many”

Cameo wasn’t alone embracing otherness in the mid-80’s. Boy George, Annie Lennox, and Michael Jackson all made being odd feel very mainstream. Also, is it a coincidence that the title of Cyndi Lauper‘s debut album, She’s So Unusual, is so similar to the title of Cameo’s single? Well actually – yes – that probably is a coincidence (but let’s pause for a moment and imagine the magic that would have resulted if Blackmon and Lauper had recorded a song together. That should have happened!) Of course funk musicians like George Clinton and Africa Bamabaataa were letting their freak flags fly well before 1984; but there was something about Cameo’s exploration of weirdness – especially in this song  – that really intrigued me.

“Straaaaaaaaange!”

Even before the music starts Cameo lets us know what we’re in for.  It’s their one word, harmonic, declarative statement that sets us up for the simple, brilliant chorus.

“She’s Strange/And I like it”.

It’s the word ‘and‘ that really made the song interesting to me. Blackmon is stating he likes this woman because she’s different. Imagine if the chorus were “She’s strange/but despite her strangeness I still find her appealing,” See the difference? Not as interesting, right?  In all seriousness, I remember thinking about that line quite a bit the first few times I listened to the song. So – being odd is good? Difference can be sexy? Of course those are simple and true statements  – but how often, either as a teen or an adult do we need to be reminded of those facts? This music video is a great time capsule of mid-80’s R&B imagery. Jheri curls? Check. Women with big hair? Check. Dressed in neon day glo colors?  Check! Check!

Larry Blackmon's brother from another mother?

Freddie Mercury: Larry Blackmon’s brother from another mother?

But what really stands out for me is Blackmon’s style. Blackmon rocked the ‘the 70’s are not quite over ‘stache’ like no else –  with the possible exception of Freddie Mercury (I think of Blackmon and Mercury as brothers in arms  – from different musical genres and different countries, but sharing the goal of fighting for the rights of freaks everywhere).       Blackmon’s style in the video is amazing. The muscle T, the leather jacket, the sunglasses –  Blackmon was serving three minutes and forty seven seconds of On the Waterfront realness! Two years later he’d cement his style icon status by 1) sporting an enviably high flat top 2) wearing that unforgettable red codpiece. I’d place that codpiece right alongside Elvis’ blue suede shoes, Madonna’s cone bra, and Michael’s glove. It’s iconic! Someone needs to write an epic poem about that codpiece!

So Much Depends Upon/ A Red Codpiece

30 Years later I’m just as intrigued by the song and video and have just as many questions. Is Blackmon gay? Is he straight? Was that a whore-house in the middle of the desert the band just visited? Why so many shots of women applying toe nail polish?  How can a woman be one’s Al Capone, one’s Rollingstones and one’s Eva Peron? Many questions without definite answers. 30 Years later the song and video are still inscrutable, the music is still great and I still like it.

Cyndi Lauper Never Lies: 30 Years of She-Bopping

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Like myself, Cyndi Lauper has also decided to celebrate the music of 1984. In her case – she’s re-releasing her debut album ‘She’s So Unusual,’ which turns 30 this year. In ’84 I liked Cyndi Lauper, but I didn’t love her. I thought her music was catchy and she got major points in my book for casting pro wrestler Captain Lou Albano in her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun video. But I also thought of her as a bit of a novelty act.  What I think I failed to understand back then was that one could have a sense of humor and also be a serious musician. There were so many painfully serious, incredibly earnest acts at the time – I didn’t realize what a breath of fresh, Long Island accented air Cyndi was for the pop scene.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is classic and Time After Time is perhaps one of the greatest pop ballads ever written, but I had a soft spot for She-Bop. I was so very pleased with myself for figuring out the song was about self-pleasure (we won’t go into why that was an easy analysis for a 16 year old boy to make) and now 30 years later Ms, Lauper has validated my theory! Thank you Cyndi!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5wQrxm8JNg

 

 

My First Time (with Duran Duran)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDnNF5cHCdo&feature=kp

On March 21st, 1984 I attended my very first concert. Duran Duran’s Sing Blue Silver tour arrived in New York City and sold out two nights at Madison Square. Despite my parents’ assumption that riots were guaranteed to break out at any and every rock show, I was able to score tickets and permission (in that order) to the concert. A few days before the show I found out that pop station Z-100 was going to broadcast the concert live. I immediately set up a plan that would enable me to relive this historic moment in pop history over and over again.

I was able to convince my mom to agree to tape the show for me. This was a decision she would quickly regret.

Step 1 Teach her how to record radio on my boom box:  “I’m going to leave the radio on all day in my room so all you have to do is push the play and the record buttons at the EXACT same time at EXACTLY 8:00pm. Don’t push play and then record – you HAVE to push them at the same time, ok?  Alright, then come back at about 8:50 and as soon as the band finishes whatever song they’re playing QUICKLY flip the tape to side B, rewind to the beginning if necessary, and then IMMEDIATELY hit the play and record buttons again.”

Step 2 – Trial Run (“OK – see you hit the record button too late. You have to use two fingers! No – I’m sorry, I’m not raising my voice, it’s just that …”)

Step 3 – A few hours before the show call home and make sure Mom has retained her lesson. Also remind her that the benefit of listening to the show is the added peace of mind of knowing that the state police have not been called in to halt the Duran Duran riots.

Step 4 – Get a friend to tape the show – just in case.

I attended the show with my friend Diana. At the time we were friendly, but not the best of friends, but our mutual appreciation of Duran Duran set up a solid foundation.

The exultant anticipation of walking into MSG to see a show for the first time is an experience you never forget. Getting from the street to your seat literally takes a lot of time and effort. First you have to make your way past the sketchiness of 34th street/Penn station. Then, relieved you haven’t been mugged or pick-pocketed, you walk through a cavernous under ground bunker into the lobby, through the ticket gate, and finally begin your ascent – up, up, up the escalators. And at MSG when you’ve only paid $12.00 for tickets you spend a lot of time going up the escalator.

When Diana and I arrived at our seats we realized we were in the rafters but that didn’t temper our excitement. We ignored the opening band (the cool thing to do) , chatted with a couple of other concert goers and then . . .

the lights dimmed . . . and then . . . the eruption of screams from thousands of frenzied pubescent girls. And the screaming did not stop for the next two hours. At first it was fun, but three songs in,it quickly grew tiresome.  “I get it – three of the five band members are REALLY hot (I didn’t have the nerve to say) but can we tone down the screeching and focus on the music, just a little?”

Duran Duran T

An exact replica of the t-shirt I owned. I may need to buy a new one on ebay.

The next day I proudly walked the hallways of my high school, ears ringing, wearing my Duran Duran concert tee. Girls I didn’t know came up to me to ask for details about the show. They jabbed their fingers against my chest, tracing the outlines of their favorite band member, “Oh – Nick is my favorite – how did he look? How was his hair?!?”

 

 

Most of my friends found it hard to believe how much I liked the group. They understood why so many 9th grade girls liked the band – but why was I so enthralled? I’d argue, with 100% sincerity, that these guys had every right to be compared to the Beatles.

“Rolling Stone Magazine called them the Fab Five.”

“These guys are real musicians who play their own instruments and write their own songs.”

“Their lyrics are really deep. Take Union of the Snake  for example. Of course it’s about sex – ‘the UNION of the SNAKE’. But it’s also about our inability to communicate, ‘If I listen close I can hear them singers/Voices in your body coming through on the radio.’ Think about it.”

In truth – I did like Duran Duran’s music – it was catchy and fun and danceable. And when Nile Rodgers started working with them (The Reflex single remix, Wild Boys, Notorious) their music also became interesting. But I was also drawn to the image  – the band’s look and their looks. I embraced the aforementioned Rolling Stone cover story because it a) gave the group some musical cred and b) gave me the chance to stare at those pretty, pretty faces.

duran-duran-rolling-stone-cover

They’re looking through me.

And in case you were wondering – here’s how they ranked (16 YO Sean and Sean of today have similar taste, although today I might swap Simon and Roger).

5. Nick

4. Andy

3. Roger (arguably the most underrated member of the group)

2. Simon

1. John

 

Alas, mom did a great job taping the show (the second tape ran out during the final song – but who could have predicted Duran Duran would do a 12 minute encore version of Girls on Film!!??)

Last year while working at Fuse I met John Taylor –  backstage at Madison Square Garden. It was a nice ‘full circle’ moment. I made a point to tell him that 29 years earlier he and his band mates had the honor of providing me with my first concert experience. I think I expected him to be a little surprised (there weren’t many boys at the show and the only other black people in the arena were the two back-up singers and Nile Rogers). But without a pause he thanked me for being a fan and remarked how quickly the time had passed. I guess when you were at one point the biggest band in the world you assume everyone was a fan.

John Tayor and SDJ

Apologies to the colleagues who I cut out of this shot – but this is a two man band.

John Taylor was gracious and funny and his well aged cheekbones were still on point! Later that night I sent a little psychic message to my 16-year-old self. “Duran Duran may not be your favorite band forever (or even later this year) but for now – your love of the Fab Five is completely justified.”

 

 

 

 

 

 Duran Duran at MSG – March 21st – The Set List

1. Tiger Tiger

2. Is There Something I Should Know

3. Hungry Like the Wolf

4. The Reflex

5. New Moon on Monday

6. Union of the Snake

7. New Religion

8. Cracks in the Pavement

9. Of Crime and Passion

10. Rio

11. Friends of Mine

12. The Seventh Stranger

13. The Chauffeur

14. Save a Prayer

15. Planet Earth

16. My Own Way

17. Careless Memories

18. Girls on Film