RIP Michael Jackson

I had some other fun movie reviews ready but I figured this was better to start.

Growing up, I was all about Thriller by Michael Jackson.  Who wasn’t about at least one of his songs in the 80’s?  I’ve met a few who claimed to not be but myself?  No, that was the best memories of Michael for me.  I even had a poster (I know, who didn’t, yadda yadda) that I kept hung up on my wall of the man.  I find myself thinking back not on his scandals today once I heard the news of his passing, but of the great creativity and inspiration his music brought to the music industry and even to me during that lovely decade we discuss here.

I post a clip of his live performance from Japan of Billie Jean in 1987 because I adore artists who are just as good live as they are on their CD with their polished publications.

Popularity: 7% [?]

25th Anniversary of Purple Rain

25 years ago from 2009, the Purple One came on scene and blew our minds with on the most creative, beautifully brilliant and long lasting works of art of the 1980’s.

He went crazy and told us “I would die 4 U” all under the purple rain. He had the Revolution but did you know that he did the following instruments: Guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals.

At the time there was a rivalry between Prince and MJ but if you want to go with raw musical talent you just have to go with Prince because he can do so much.

Popularity: 7% [?]

80’s Music - Remade (part 2)

I like my writing partners post so much that I had to re-visit her idea of 80s Music Remade.

I got a few songs that are 80s remakes that I really like:

Land of Confusion - Genesis - This was was a good song with a great video. Remember. It had a bunch of caricature hand puppets singing. Disturbed remade this song and did a great job. This is not something you’d expect them to do which (for me) made me an even bigger fan of the group.

Shout - Tear for Fears - Sometimes artist will do things that I think is so amazing that I get inspired, jealous and teary eyed at the awesomeness of what they have created. Shout is one of those songs and Tears for Fears is one of those groups (Everybody Wants to Rule the World -one of my all time favorite songs). And then came Shout 2000 on Disturb’s album The Sickness. WOW. Its so good that I don’t hear the same song when I listen to the original. Shout 2000 is playful, angry, aggressive with all the power and meaning of Tears for Fears.. it is good.. dare I say.. better than the original?

*dang they are cute.
Cruel Summer - Bananarama - This is one of those songs that I didn’t appreciate in the 80s, but now, in retrospect, seems to frame the essence of the 80s like MC Hammer pants.. (ok baaaad analogy). Its a catchy song looking back. It was remade by Ace of Base and I must say the did a fantastic job. Disclaimer: I am not, I repeat NOT a fan of Ace of Base. My future ex-wife likes Ace of Base (and Wilson “FUCKING” Philips! Wilson. m&*ther fuc*. Philips! There is just no excuse for that kind of bastard-tastic filth (yeah, Websters I made up a new word it is an adverb bitches). But I digress. Ace of Base. Cruel Summer. Good song.

Tainted Love - The Soft Cell - This is actually a cover of a 1964 Soul song. The original song was done by soul singer Gloria Jones in 1964.
But it was the British group Soft Cell that gave it world renowned 80s greatness.

And then came Marylin Manson in all her/his/its demented infamy. Marylin covered the 80s version of Tainted Love (which makes it a cover of a cover). Manson raped it, turned it out and made “Tainted Love” into an obscene curse phrase.. its awesome. And the video is like Thug gothic porn straight out an urbanized Necronocomicon Bible. It is sick in every since of the word.

Popularity: 7% [?]

80’s Music - Remade

Just a quick list of a few of my favorite 80’s songs with a good remake I’ve heard throughout my years on the planet growing up (or growing old, take your pick).

1.Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics  - I’m not even going to pretend that, as a child, the video made any sense whatsoever to me (but I tried to figure it out on several occasions).  Annie Lennox’s voice is divine, though, and the electronic beat most associated with this decade worked extremely well as a package deal.  As far as remakes go, Marilyn Manson composed a killer remake of this song that took it from the realm of mystical into the land of creepy and sinister (as he is wont to do).

2.Blue Monday - New Order  - Let’s face it; New Order just owned when it came to capturing a sound and taking it to a new level.  The lyrics to Blue Monday were as awesome then as they are today, and the song’s meaning just really worked excellently with the completely electronic music and vocals.  Obviously, the best remake I’ve heard of this song (and the only remake I’ve had the pleasure of hearing of this song) is by a band called Orgy, and the remake was featured in the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack.  Their revamped style of the song stayed in the same vein as the original (aesthetic electronics) but their lead vocalist brought a bit more emotion to the lyrics and really put another spin on a classic, in my opinion.

3.Billie Jean - Michael Jackson   -  Yeah, there had to be a Michael Jackson song on this list somewhere.  I grew up on the Thriller album (but how many of us didn’t?) and Billie Jean was one of my favorites.  I didn’t quite get the lyrics back then (I was 5 or 6 when the song came out, after all), but I remembered that catchy pop beat that Michael had a knack for.  There’s actually two remakes I have to recommend here.  The first was done by Chris Cornell, where he took the original and gave it a slowed down, sultry tempo.  The second was David Cook’s take on the Chris Cornell version that he performed during his run on the seventh season of American Idol (I can’t recommend anything David’s done enough, he’s hot).

4.Call Me - Blondie  -  Man, this song was so my jam growing up.  I missed it when it came out in 1980 ( I was 2, cut me some slack), but once I discovered it a few years later I couldn’t get enough of it.  It’s peppy, comes with its own seductive undertones, and have you listened to the lyrics?  Dirty, s’all I’m saying.  Remakes?  Well I just recently found one by a group called  In This Moment that captured the original style of the song while still bringing in their own style, swapping electric synthesizers for electric guitars covering the riffs and breaks in singing.

5.Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode  -  This song helped me kick off the dogmatic ties that kept me from writing freely growing up and helped me delve into those little crevaces of the mind we’re encouraged to ignore.  I can’t recommend this song highly enough to own, use, abuse, commit debauchery to, etc.  The remake I have in mind should go without saying; Marilyn Manson’s cover of this song was wonderful.  He stayed in the footsteps of Depeche Mode, only tweaking and adding to the song to infuse his own style into it.  Masterful remake if I’ve ever heard one.

Short list, I know, but I like to keep my list of approved remakes (in regards to music) short, sweet, and to the point.  But there’s five for you to check out.  Enjoy ‘em!  I know I do, and frequently.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Jem and the Holograms

I swear, I went researching all the links and content here and found only ONE reference to Jem and the Holograms and the link to the picture (and the site taken from) doesn’t even work anymore.  Fail.

Now look.  I was one of those girls that loved Transformers (G1, all the way) and G.I. Joe just as much as the next person did, but I will ALWAYS have a spot for Jem and the Holograms.  It was the first show that was really geared towards girls (and not in that cutesy Strawberry Shortcake or Care Bears way) and gave me all the things I loved about the first two I mentioned while catering to my girly needs.  Don’t buy it?  Sit down and watch some of those old episodes.  They had music, drama, fashion, action… Jem had it all.  Jem and the Holograms also opened my eyes to multicolored hair… much to my mother’s dismay.

Jem was a must watch show for me.  Music has always been a fueling point of my creativity and there was always at least one to two songs guaranteed per episode.  And there were, at any given time, two bands to choose from!  When the Stingers came into play later in the seasons that was just three times the awesome (not to mention the new possible love triangle for Jem… who really needed to be more honest with Rio.  Just saying.)

Yes, I’m smart enough to realize that the acting and animation weren’t always the best, but they made characters that grew on you and put them in situations you could sympathize with.  As the title song said, Jem had “glamour and glitter, fashion and fame”.  Above all else, Jem really embodied the 80’s without being too overwhelming with the negative aspects of the decade (the overindulgence, drug use, and the list goes on and on).  It’s something I can send my kids to (and they roll their eyes at me) when I want them to know what the 80’s was about from an entertainment perspective.

So yes.  Jem and the Holograms.  Go educate yourself on this awesome 80’s show while I figure out how to add actual Jem content to this site.  I swear… the lack of Jem content here depresses me.

Popularity: 5% [?]

80s Ghetto Blaster

The first ghetto blaster I saw was on LL Cool J’s video, “My Radio”. Mounted on LL’s thin frame was a massive rectangle blasting music as he torched the streets of New York with funky fresh lyrics. He was in uniform, an red Adiddas gear. It was in your face cool, it was aggressive and it was annoying all at once. It was hip-hop in the 80’s.

And now its history. These days a guy would have to get an ipod mounted ghetto blaster.. hey.. not a bad idea!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Coolest thing about the 80s

The coolest thing about the 80’s was the music. Back in the day some of it sounded and felt a little corny. Songs like “I’m turning Japanese” by the Vapors and “Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats were kind of weird (with complimentary WTF videos) but that was the appeal. They were Avante Garde, daring and outside of the box. Unfortunately, you don’t get as much of that anymore in pop music, or on the radio.

Looking back I definitely appreciate 80s music better. It seemed more free creatively. That is not to say that there has not been anything as good or even better since the 80’s but artists willing to take risks seems harder to come by.

Since I’m a bit of a tech head, I wanted to say my favorite thing from the 80s was the personal computer, but for one thing I didn’t own a computer in the 80’s and for another the pc came out in the late 70’s. Still, I’m sure there are lots of technical advancements I could have mentioned instead of music.

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Duran Duran Flipbook

getback.com — “Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and three dudes named Taylor — Roger, Andy, and John (none of them related) — were kind of the Beatles of the ’80s. They were cited as the biggest band in what MTV called “The Second British Invasion,” earning 21 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 and selling over 100 million records.”

I would call them the “second British Invasion”. Duran Duran was definitely an 80’s A-List act but comparing them to the Beatles is laughable hype. Your proof should be that Duran Duran did not even survive the 90s where as the Beatles are timeless. They are a once in a decade phenomenon. The closest thing to Beatles type fame in the 80s was Michael Jackson.

My wife told me that one of her friends had a poster of one of the guys in Duran Duran. While a group of her girl friends sat around talking about how much they loved the group, she said she wasn’t attracted to them and the friendship was over.

Looking back its easy to say “man, those meterosexuals suck.” But in the 80s Duran Duran were gods outside of any genre description.

I’m must admit that I am an out the closet flamer for Hungry like the wolf who the hell would not have sex with Duran
Duran after hearing Hungry like the Wolf!!

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80s music lyrics

Here’s some music lyrics from a couple of my favorite 80s songs. I’ll post more 80s Music Lyrics as they come to me.

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is a song originally written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley and Chris Hughes of the British band Tears for Fears

Welcome to your life
Theres no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you
Acting on your best behaviour
Turn your back on mother nature
Everybody wants to rule the world

Its my own design
Its my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help me make the most
Of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world

Theres a room where the light wont find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do Ill be right behind you

So glad weve almost made it
So sad they had to fade it
Everybody wants to rule the world

I cant stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world
Say that youll never never never never need it
One headline why believe it ?
Everybody wants to rule the world

All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world

“Rock the Casbah” is a song by The Clash, released on their 1982 album Combat Rock.

Now the king told the boogie men
You have to let that raga drop
The oil down the desert way
Has been shakin to the top
The sheik he drove his cadillac
He went a cruisnin down the ville
The muezzin was a standing
On the radiator grille

Chorus
The shareef dont like it
Rockin the casbah
Rock the casbah
The shareef dont like it
Rockin the casbah
Rock the casbah

By order of the prophet
We ban that boogie sound
Degenerate the faithful
With that crazy casbah sound
But the bedouin they brought out
The electric camel drum
The local guitar picker
Got his guitar picking thumb
As soon as the shareef
Had cleared the square
They began to wail

Chorus

Now over at the temple
Oh! they really pack em in
The in crowd say its cool
To dig this chanting thing
But as the wind changed direction
The temple band took five
The crowd caught a wiff
Of that crazy casbah jive

Chorus

The king called up his jet fighters
He said you better earn your pay
Drop your bombs between the minarets
Down the casbah way

As soon as the shareef was
Chauffeured outta there
The jet pilots tuned to
The cockpit radio blare

As soon as the shareef was
Outta their hair
The jet pilots wailed

Chorus

He thinks its not kosher
Fundamentally he cant take it.
You know he really hates it.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Top That!: The decapitation of Hip Hop

When the beat cues up I was like “don’t rap, don’t rap, don’t rap, don’t rap”

Top That!
This scene from 1989s Teen Witch might be the exact moment which hip hop died.

Top That! - Watch more free videos

Popularity: 30% [?]

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