Musical Interests Part 2

As originally posted on February 9, 2013:

1985.

There is some noteworthy music every year, even when it isn't a great year in music.  1985 holds a strange place in my heart.  If I could sum up my 1985 musical interests in one word, it would be eclectic.

That year my musical tastes stemmed primarily from what was popular on the radio, however, I was also beginning to be influenced by what friends listened to and by what I discovered on my own.

So this list is that eclectic combination of music that dominated my 1985.  I've always enjoyed a mix of genres, which is probably evident from the list.

Here are my standout albums and songs:

Knee Deep In The Hoopla by Starship.  "Sara"...wow, what a song!  I agree, there isn't any good time for good-byes.

World Wide Live by Scorpions.  I can't stop my head from moving when "Rock You Like A Hurricane" comes on.  Those guys toured recently and I am truly sorry I made no effort to go see them, just to relive the old times.

Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears.  "Shout" and "Head Over Heels" were my go-to songs on that cassette tape.  I always enjoyed their sound.

Lovin' Every Minute of It by Loverboy.  Good album overall...even though I'm pretty sure all the dudes in the band had perms.

 

World Machine by Level 42.  Something between soft rock and pop, I really enjoyed "Something About You" back then.  I'm only human, after all.

Catching Up With Depeche Mode by Depeche Mode.  I didn't get into Depeche Mode until three or four years later, but several of my DM favorites started on this album, so it deserves a mention.

Mike and The Mechanics by Mike and The Mechanics.  I can empathize when it comes to being at a creative loss for ideas.  Is that why bands self-title their albums?  Or maybe they've just used up all their creative juices on the songs.  I don't know.  This album's best:  "All I Need Is A Miracle."

Heart by Heart.  Another self-titled release.  I remember "These Dreams" receiving a lot of airplay on MTV back then.  Nice music.  Not extraordinary, but really good.

The Breakfast Club (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).  A decent soundtrack, but let's face it...Simple Minds OWNED that album.  Big time.  "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is one of the great songs of my time and being tied into The Breakfast Club just makes it a ridiculous favorite of mine.

Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston.  Sure, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown plummeted later, and became, really, pretty trashy over the years, but at one time...Whitney had a good voice.  A great voice.  I'm not afraid to say I liked it back then. Strange factoid:  Bret Easton Ellis gives her a nod in his book, American Psycho.

UTFO by UTFO.  1985 was hot on the heels of my breakdancing days.  Yes, that's right, I used to keep a sheet of cardboard handy that I'd throw down at the drop of a dime.  I was always ready to bust out a backspin.  Remind me to write about Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo in a different post.

Radio by LL Cool J.  I've always liked LL Cool J and this was his debut album.  Too awesome.

King of Rock by Run-D.M.C.  I remember our 5th-grade-class taking a field trip to Jones Park (a few blocks from my elementary school).  Somebody brought a boombox--I brought King of Rock.

Meat is Murder by The Smiths.  A classic.  Also the first album I heard by The Smiths, one of my favorite groups through the years.

Riptide by Robert Palmer.   "Addicted to Love" is great and was my initiation to Palmer.  It was, no doubt, the most popular song from this album, though my personal favorites from Palmer are "Simply Irresistible" and his remake of "Mercy Mercy Me."

It doesn't make the list of my favorites from 1985, but I'll give Eddie Murphy some credit for being a diverse entertainer.  He had an album out that year called, How Could It Be, which had the song, "Party All The Time," that wasn't half bad.

One final nod to the music of 1985...you'll always have a place in my heart and on my iPod.

Musical Interests Part 1

This was originally posted on February 5, 2023, on my original blog. Which I accidentally deleted. Yes, that's a real thing.

….

Initially I wanted to write a quick post with Bart's favorite albums from each year of his life, 1975-2012.

But, that quick post turned in to three hours of me looking through albums, and track lists, and realizing that identifying just one album per year would be difficult.  Very difficult.

Then I started thinking of ways I could compartmentalize my musical selections in order to make my task easier.  There were a lot of options…too many options for the time I have:

Best xx albums of all time...

Best albums of 19xx or 20xx...

Best year in music...

Best band of all time...

Top (insert genre of music) bands...

Top 3 albums from each year of my life...

Indecisive as ever, I couldn't decide which of these would be most fun or challenging or whatever.  So, I'm going to periodically fire out random thoughts about bands, albums, or singles that have influenced me in some way.  Or maybe, more simply, just bands or songs that I like.  I'll go wherever the road takes me, whatever pops into my head.

Today I'm going to start with the only easy year in music from my initial search to find the best album from every year of my life.  The year was 1980.  The band: AC/DC.  They released Back in Black that year.  I was only five years old at the time, so I don't remember specifically whether I heard them that year or even knew who they were.  But I do know I've listened to the songs from that album hundreds of times over the past 25 years or so.  I did as recently as this week.

Favorite song from that album:  You Shook Me All Night Long.  Obvious, I know, but what a classic, eh?  It sounds great today, just as it has for years, and strangely, it is one of the few songs that I've heard which never sound dated to me.  I never hear it and think of it as a 33-year-old song.

And, so, a quick nod to AC/DC, walls that are shaking, earth that's quaking, and the year 1980.

Good night!

Punch to the Gut

Sometimes life catches you with a punch to the gut.
That's not out of the ordinary.
But when it comes from people who call themselves your friends, it might be time to reconsider the situation.