Tag Archives: Music

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had been replaced by shopping malls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

 

 

Number One This Week in 1984: Footloose

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf9SdsIVkoI

This week in 1984 Kenny Loggin’s Footloose was the number one pop single (the song was number one for three weeks in a row – from March 31st to April 14th). This was the first single from the soundtrack for the hit film of the same name starring Kevin Bacon. Pop Culture confession – I’ve never seen this movie. Somehow I missed it when it was out in the theaters and then for the next 30 years on TV. I don’t feel like I’m missing out because the music video shows me everything I need to know. – Teen angst and parental oppression are no competition for the power of gymnastics, dancing and Kevin Bacon in a tank top.

I haven’t heard or thought about this song in years – but after watching the video I think it holds up really well. So much energy, so much fun. And despite some really stiff competition – this tune would go on to win the Grammy for Song of the Year.

What do you think – when you hear this song – does it still make you want to cut loose?

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to 1984

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This blog is dedicated to the irrefutable, undeniable fact that in the year of our lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Four, the pop culture gods smiled down and bestowed upon us the single greatest year of pop music the world has ever known.

Why 1984?

Why not ‘83 or ’85 or ‘64 of ‘92 or any other year that contained a number of great singles and albums? Well, it’s my belief that in 1984 the pop world coalesced in a way it had never coalesced before (and most likely will never again). Call it Karma or call it blessed coincidence  – but this was a unique moment in time when musicians were creating masterpieces AND music labels were making the right decisions AND the general public was ready to hear and see and embrace it all. The result? 12 months of great (the greatest) pop music; from January when Michael Jackson’s Thriller  – THRILLER!!  – sat in the top 10; through December when Band Aid released “Do They Know Its Christmas?”

1984 brought ascension (RUN-D.M.C., Madonna, R.E.M.,), resurrection (Tina Turner, Chaka Khan) and evolution (Bruce Springsteen, Patti Labelle) for countless musicians (and listeners).

1984 also brought us the seminal song, soundtrack and film all sharing the two-word title:

Purple.

Rain!

(MUCH MUCH MUCH SO MUCH MORE on Prince and Wendy and Lisa and Doc Fink and Brown Mark and Bobby Z in future posts!)

I have to admit my love of 1984 has just as much to do with who I was during that year as it does with the great music I listened to. Does anyone love or connect to music as much as they do as a teenager?

At age 16 I was ready to tackle the radical political commentary of Frankie Goes to Hollywood‘s Two Tribes and the subtle sexual lyricism of Depeche Mode‘s Master and Servant.  I also believed that the analytical muscles I developed studying Lord of the Flies and Julius Caesar fully empowered me to decipher the deeper meaning of songs like New Moon on Monday, Pretty Persuasion, and Karma Chameleon.

In ’84 I also fell in with a group of friends who became my group. We came from all 5 boroughs of NYC and were black and white and Asian and Latino and biracial. That level of diversity seemed rare but it felt comfortable and it fit (People are People, indeed). So when I saw Mikey Craig in Culture Club or The System or General Public or Hall & Oates‘ live band or The Revolution – all of the decisions I was making (at the time I didn’t realize they were decisions) felt affirmed.

During this year I also noticed a number of music artists who were playing with gender and sexuality just enough to intrigue, but not freak out an adolescent who had recently become aware of some unexpected desires. Whether it was Annie Lennox or Boy George‘s gender bending or Bronski Beat‘s lyrics or Rockwell‘s eyeliner (and his alleged romantic relationship with Michael) – some of my favorite artists seemed to take their inner most desires and literally wear them on their sleeves. I was far from ready to do that, but felt grateful they were willing to do it for me.

So here’s to the music that entertained me, changed me, guided me, and inspired me to such an extent that 30 years later I’m compelled to return for a visit.