Who Dat When I Say Who Dat?

My most recent CD acquirement (is that a word?) was from the same people who brought you 100 Hits 80's Pop.  This CD collection,  which is not quite as popular as its predecessor does have quite a few more bands on it that I've not heard of so I decided to make a list of all the bands combined, to see if anyone else had a difficult time recognizing them also..(redundant? I think not)

The title of this album surprisingly enough is 100 Hits 80s 100 Classic Tracks of the Decade.  I was a bit confused as to which genre of 80s music it was as the other box sets were listed as Dance, Pop, Rock and Pop and Rewind.

Be that as it may...and with out further ado, I shall list the bands and their tunes in the order in which I did not recognize them.  Just kidding, I will just list them:

Princess-Say I'm Your Number (must be a bingo fan)
Pat & Mick-I Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet (must be really exhausted)
Sabrina-Boys or the more popular version (Summertime Love with scantily clad bikinis in the video)
Fuzzbox-Pink Sunshine (i got nothing)
Voice of The Lattisaw-Jump to the Beat (still trying to get past the band name)
Desireless-Voyage Voyage (ahoy there?)
The Reynolds Girls-I'd Rather Jack-(what? cars? airplanes?)
Errol Brown-Personal Touch (must be talking about sex)
Blue Zoo-Cry Boy Cry (nope, got nada with this one too)
Then Jericho-Big Area (follow up albums?-  large spaces and huge terrain?)
Matt Bianco-Get Out of Your Lazy Bed (a motivational speaker in his past life perhaps?)
Snowy White-Bird of Paradise (must be a side gig, princess by day/singer by night)
The Cool Notes-In Your Car (don't remember much of the song, I wonder why)
Mai Tai-History (actually the only thing that I get from a Mai Tai is a hangover, must be it drinking wrong)
Stock Aitken Waterman-Roadblock (sounds like a law firm, or an account firm or something not like a band)
Monyaka- Go Deh (Go to the Top) (or go learn some English? I don't know)
Steve Arrington-Feel So Real (self explanatory)
Hot Streak-Body Work (fitness guru perhaps?)
Simon Harris-Bass (how low can you go) (as low as I need to before I keel over? what a question!)
London Boys-London Nights (with London Girls perhaps?)
The Belle Stars-The Clapping Song (resurfacing itself once again in a VW commercial well done girls)
The Look-I Am The Beat (well you must keep really busy then)
Hazell Dean-Love (pretty succinct and to the point I think)
Red Box-For America (this is actually a good song)
Taja Seville-Love is Contagious (I'm not sure that's true. Measles..the measles are contagious, definitely)

So that's the most recent CD box set I purchased, I will have to write another blog to include the first one.  Who knew a 5 disc box set could take up so much time.  Yeah I know, it's a crap excuse but its the best one I have and I'm running with it.

Ciao for Now ;)

Shaking the Tree

So the other day I was out wandering around the neighborhood where I work and I decided to pop into one of my favorite places, Rainy Day Records.  I was in the mood for something 80s that I did not already own.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but I would know it when I saw it.  And then I saw it :)

Peter Gabriel -- Shaking the Tree,  Sixteen Golden Greats.    Honestly, I didn't even thoroughly look to see what songs were on the album when I initially purchased it.   If you have any Peter Gabriel in your music library at all you know the feeling of satisfaction and triumph that I felt when I saw this.  Mr. Gabriel is a fabulous musician and a wonderful story teller.  The liner notes take it a step beyond the usual by listing the songs selected from which albums and the years these albums were created.  Nice.

Once again I shall admit to not knowing quite a few of these hit singles but that's okay, I loved listening to them for the first time. Hearing Kate Bush's voice on Don't Give Up really made me smile.  Here Comes The Flood however made me reflective and quiet which I'm sure Peter had intended for the listener. (well I like to think so).

The one song that was not on the album that I thought would be was In Your Eyes even though quite a few songs on this album were from his 1986 album So.  I decided to find out why :)

Apparently it was not released as a single in the UK..imagine that.  It is quite a beautiful song, and I'm sure I have it in my collection somewhere, so I didn't lose any sleep over it :)

Well there you have it.  Be amazed  and revere he who is Peter Gabriel.  He has a lot to say and many colorful wonderful ways to say it.

Big Time ;)

Mr. Tambourine Mens

"I loves me some tambourine playin!" 

I know the title might be a bit confusing but there's a reason for it.   I wanted to discuss something that not many people give consideration to these days..The Tambourine.

Yeah I know, I can hear it now.."are you serious?"  Yes, yes I am.  Because something interesting occurred to me the other day while I was listening to Gary Numan singing Cars.  There is a really cool part of the song where he grabs a tambourine and just goes to town on it.

Now if you've ever played the tambourine, you know that you must have some sense of rhythm and dexterity in order to keep a good sound going.  It may not be as exciting to play as say a bass or a lead guitar, but you can look just as sexy playing one ;)

Gary Numan does.  He looks really hot playing that tambourine in the video.  Almost compelling, beckoning you with his eyes..."come hither, listen to my tambourine solo, you know you want me.."

 (see, he still has that look in his eyes ;))

I think Gary took some pointers from his tambourine mentor.  Yep, none other than that lad from Manchester the one and only Davy Jones of the Monkees.  He was quite the mean tambourine player as well, and boy could he look sexy.

(I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but doesn't Davy look a bit like Russell Brand in this photo?)

Oh well, never mind.  So that's it,  The Tambourine, boring for some, sexy for others, fun for all...why else would Bob Dylan have written a song about it..he knew..

IS? Anticipation Greater Than The Real Thing? Have You Decided? Epilogue

I was really appreciative of the store clerk's effort to be such a big help too.  I even pointed out as he was ringing me up that there were several bands on the compilation that I didn't recognize.  He seemed perplexed actually stating "I can't imagine why, their all 80's songs"  I smiled and looked at him.  I must have had a peculiar look on my face because he actually figured it out on his own.."oh right! because you're from the states, and those bands probably weren't big over there"  I laughed and nodded.."story of my 80s musical world my dear" I said and we both had a good laugh.

So I think that I did pretty good for 10 British, 16 or so American.  The Sound of the Suburbs CD was only 3.50 British pounds which was about, almost 6 American so I did okay I think.  So far, I've been enjoying them both.  The 100 Hits-80's Pop compilation was produced by a company called Demon Music Group.  They've got quite the selection online if you ever want to go and check them out.  They seem to deal mostly with certain bands, repeating the bands on other compilations but not the songs.  They also have an unusual selection of Ian Drury and the Blockheads music.  Maybe not so unusual, but there is a lot of it available.  So if you are a fan and can't get his albums, that's probably where they all are. (just saying)

All in all I had a great time in Scotland.  Every store I went into had Top 40's music playing, which I recognized none of it unless well you know, it made it across the pond.  I only wish I would have had enough time to really dig deep to find new/old treasures.  Perhaps next time I will allot myself an entire day of music browsing.

One last thing I have to leave you all with.  On the second to last night before our stay was over, my husband took myself, his mum and his brother all out for dinner at the local chip shop.  Everything there is within walking distance where we were so we arrived in no time.  At one point during our meal, my husband and his brother got up and left the table to go smoke, leaving me and Mum there to finish our dinner.  A song came on the overhead system and Mum kind of perked up and said to me.."Is that Take That?"  My mouth opened slightly and then I closed it, thinking both of these things simultaneously.."Mum knows who Take That is?, she's like 70?"  and then "I know absolutely NOTHING by Take That"  I chose to blurt out the latter statement first as opposed to the former.  I think I mentioned something about Robbie Williams being a great singer and was going to leave it there.  She nodded and said.."I'm almost sure that's them.  I like them" she said.."And BoyZone, I like them too" I was faced once again with a musical group that I had only heard of in name and had nothing to contribute.  All I could do was smile and say.."that's pretty cool Mum"  she just shrugged her shoulders and finished her dinner.

Wow..I thought, "Is this going to be me in 20 years?


God I hope so..:)

IS? Anticipation Greater Than The Real Thing? You Tell Me Part 3

I really wasn't going to eek this out into a 3-Parter, but I couldn't help myself. (it could be 4 parts, you never know)  My strong desire to be a storyteller took control over my normal sensibility.  What can I say, I'm long winded :)

Nevertheless, the story must continue and having said that, if you recall, I left off on Part 2 with my husband finding me a really groovy 80s compilation.  I must say, it did brighten my spirits. So much so that I was pretty much thinking I was done shopping for music at that point.  I would have been if my stepson would not have said..."you know Mum, HMV across the street has tons of that 80s stuff you like"  I paused in mid stride as we were leaving 1UP and looked at him, a smidge confused. "you mean, there is a place on this earth that willingly caters to my music tastes?" I said with a peculiar grin.  He laughed and shook his head.."they have other stuff there too for regular people"  Regular people?  Am I an oddity now? Not really sure what to do with that, I extended my hand and said.."Lead on good man"

HMV is a very high profile record shop, more-so on the order of FYE or Tower Records for a lack of better examples.  (I don't frequent many large record shops these days, so I'm unfamiliar with their names)  As I was walking in I could feel the gravitational pull towards exactly what I wanted. Or so I thought. It was actually my stepson tugging my arm to hurry me along, apparently I started doing that "tourist thing" as he called it and was walking about aimlessly, mouth a gaped, pointing at things. (Who knew? I thought I was a tourist)

We climbed the escalator and there to my left were all of the compilation albums for just about any decade you could possibly want.  As long as it was in the 50 years :)  I was given a reassuring pat on the shoulder by my stepson a kiss on the cheek by my husband and these instructions "have at it" and away they went to free themselves of my tourist-y ways to do what they pleased. 

I must have looked really super lost, confused or out of place all together, because at one point a very nice young man with glasses came to my rescue and asked "are you finding everything alright?"  I smiled painfully as if someone had asked me how was my trip to the dentist.  "I'm just trying to make a decision here" I said, looking very much as though I was doing just that.  He actually looked eager to be of assistance and made more inquiries such as "any music in particular that you're looking for?" and "any particular artists?"  I nodded on both accounts and blurted out that I was a rabid fan of 80s pop music and how I had a Twitter page and that I was looking for new/old music for my video showcases to which he replied.."that's cool"  I had even mentioned that my username was @80sMusicGirl at one point.  He seemed to appreciate that extra bit of info, or at least he was very good at pretending.

When all was said and done he whirled around a section of the store at blinding speed and produced this little number, smiling all the while, thinking of the brownie points he was totaling up for being such a big help.

IS? Anticipation Greater than the Real Thing? You Tell Me, Part 2

If you've read the unspoken part 1 of this blog you would right now be thinking, "I wonder what she found downstairs in the bargain basement?"  Amazingly enough, not a whole lot.  Oh I found plenty of 80s compilations that I knew about and some that I didn't know about, but I had no interest in them mainly because I knew all of the artists on them.  I wanted something fresh and uncompromising that I could cherish for years to come.  That wasn't too much to ask was it?  I also wanted to have some groovy tunes to bring back and play on my Saturday Showcases (hee!)

Now I'm not saying that 1UP Records is a horrible place to go by any means.  It's a great store in a fantastic location and the people that work there are very helpful.  I'm just going to assume they were not prepared for that type of brain exercise so soon after lunch.  I was just about to give up hope when my husband and my stepson came romping down the stairs where I was and offered to try and help.  At that point I had no idea what either of them could do and was away to say so when my husband turns around to see what I was searching through and puts his hand on a CD that I had probably passed over at least 3 or 4 times.  Apparently in my stage of disgruntlement I tend to over look things that are staring right at me...(anyone else do that?)  He smiles and says.."did you see this one?" and shoves this CD in my face.

I took it and smiled a bit, trying not to look too disappointed as I began to read the names on the cover.  I get halfway through what I'm reading and I started to actually smile.  I was actually thinking that this one was going to be a bust, but it wasn't.  It was a literal gold mine.  Okay it was a small gold mine, but it was a start. 

IS? Anticipation greater than the real thing? You tell me.

As you can see, I am back from my whirlwind tour of the North East of Scotland or as I like to call it.."How many relatives can you really visit in 10 days or less"  Quite a few actually if you set your mind to it :) 

I was very excited when we finally set foot on Scottish soil, mainly because I knew that in a few days I was going to be visiting one of the best record shops in the whole of Scotland-the famous, or infamous 1UP.  I'd heard tales of the magnificent treasures that awaited me there and I was gathering my thoughts in my head so that I could properly request the music that I was looking for without looking like a blithering idiot.

HA! It didn't work.

No matter how many times I said "I'm looking for slightly or majorly obscure bands from the 80s that possibly came from this area of the United Kingdom or outlying areas therein" I kept getting the same look.  "aroo?"  (Sometimes I honestly thought I was speaking to Scooby Doo himself. ) the reply that followed was thus..."Unless I know the names of the bands I couldn't tell you"  I suppose in retrospect that made some sense, but how am I suppose to know their names if they are OBSCURE???  I was then directed to visit their basement area to have a look there for  period compilations at bargain prices.  So with dread in heart and a heavy sigh of despondence, I walked down the two flights of stairs to find cheaply priced 80s music that I probably had already.

Or did I?

The More I Get the More I Want

That should be the title of a song don't you think so?  I think it should be sung by a band called Shiny Asphalt.  I hope there isn't a band called that already that would totally interfere with the dynamics of my statement :)


HA! So, recently I've been purchasing music online like a madwoman! Mad I say!  I'm steadily building my Duran Duran collection as you may know already.   I've received Rio, Liberty, Notorious, Medazzaland and 7 and the Ragged Tiger. Each album is pretty unique in its own right, but more about that another time.

I'm finding that I really enjoy the compilation CD's of 80's artists.  Especially ones I'm not familiar with. Take the Missing persons album that I purchased recently.

Now I like Dale Bozzio just as much as anyone who loves their 80s music.  But I'm going to be honest. That little squeaky thing she does with her voice only goes so far with me.  So it was advantageous in that aspect to only get the hit compilations.  Also compilations are great if you have memories of certain songs and you don't really want to sift through 6 or 7 albums worth of music just to find them.  This is where The Best of Roxy Music came in handy:

Not to mention I just LOVED the cover art on this album :).

Ever since I've revamped myself into 80sMusicGirl, I've been on a never ending quest to find all 80s music that my heart desires.  It never fails, every time I THINK that I'm done looking, someone brings up a band or a singer that I absolutely have to listen to and of course I end up listening to them and then they remind of another band I hadn't heard in ages and the cycle begins all over again.

What I REALLY love are 80's compilations of hits that been put together by some record company or distributor somewhere and I find all of these cool one hit wonders and think to myself "wow! I love that song" or in this case (excuse me while I skipped this next song in my playlist, Rapture by Blondie) songs that I could just live without entirely.  What am I listening to you may ask?  Vh1's Big 80's.  I blogged about it a few blogs back. Just in case you forgot:

Great album too. Well, except for Rapture.  Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not a Blondie hater.  I heard this song the first time all the way through about 10 years ago.  Yep, that's right I had never heard it before then.  I was pretty much done with it after that.  Tis my opinion and my opinion only.  And you know what they say about opinions ha!

So to finish this up quickly as my time is running short, when my husband and I go to Scotland in August, he is taking me to 1UP Records in Aberdeen and I'm going to have my way with the place. I'm giving my self a budget and focusing strictly on bands and or singers of the 80s era that I had never heard of before and also that appeals to me.  Trust me I'm not going to walk out of there with the The Best of Joe Weirdo and His All Feet Playing Banjo Music.  I don't care how catchy it is.

Ahhh.. my playlist has shifted to Safety Dance, one of my all time favorite 80s tunes.  This is me signing out and saying ciao for now.   MUAH!

"you can dance if you want to, you can leave your friends behind, cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance well their..no friends of mine" 

My Duran Duran CD Collection

I've been really excited lately about acquiring more CD's for my Duran Duran Collection.  I want to focus on the main studio albums first and then work my way into the numerous compilations and DVDs.  This past Friday I went to my local record store and purchased Decades for a dollar.  The guy that runs the place knows I'm always on the lookout for  80s music and does his best to find it for me..He's so awesome. 

Last night in the mail, I received Arena which is supposed to be their "live" album from concerts all over the world.  Although some of it sounded live and lot of it didn't which is neither here nor there in my opinion.  I'm sure it bums some people out, but I'm not bothered ;)

I had to reorder the Wedding Album because the last two songs on it didn't play.  I got a prompt refund from Amazon and used it to buy another copy..Fingers Crossed eh?

Now, I am patiently waiting for 7 and the Ragged Tiger. I'm really interested in hearing this one..the title alone is intriguing enough..I don't think I will be disappointed. 

There are quite a few more that I've put on order, I just can't seem to remember what they are.  I know that I'm in the market for Notorious and All You Need is Now, but there are a couple more I would like to get before them.

That's pretty much it today..I'm going to need another desk here soon to keep all of my music on, but hey, that's why I come to work every day..Take care all,

CIAO FOR NOW xx

New Albums Today or Yesterday :)

Duran Duran

I've recently become quite attached to my Duran Duran's Greatest Hits album.  I love it so much that I am seriously thinking about getting all of their albums and putting them in my list of top ten favorite 80s bands.

I can hear it already.."so? what's the big deal Duran Duran is a great group" Um yeah..they are.  They are a great group, but I'm a late bloomer. I wasn't into Duran Duran the first time around because, well, I didn't get them.  Yep, you heard it correctly, I was completely in the dark as to why they were so popular. (oh don't feel bad, I felt the same way about Morrissey before I fell in love with him, but that's a different blog)

I wanted to get them, I watched the videos with earnest looking for some shred of something coherent that I could understand.  But somehow it never worked.  My favorite Duran Duran song ended up being Notorious, mainly because it was kind of a no-brainer song with no reason for a lot of explanation. That was my story and I was sticking to it 

It wasn't until later on down the line that I discovered Ordinary World.  I heard the song before I saw the video and I immediately wanted to make my own video interpretation of it. It was that inspiring.  I did manage to see the video for it on YouTube later and well let's just say I'm sticking with my version :)

Since I've become 80sMusicGirl, I've been asked some pretty hefty music questions regarding Duran Duran.  I didn't want to seem like a hater, but frankly I couldn't be all "oh yeah I like the 80s but not Duran Duran" I would get mauled! So I decided to do some quiet research on my own and I discovered this nifty album. Duran Duran Greatest:

With in one day, I went from casual Duran Duran listener to avid listener.  I was in love with every song on the album, and I knew a lot of them too, which was odd. (the power of MTV)  I was very surprised.  I have new favorite songs too!  I especially like this one:

and this next one is my newest newest favorite, I'm completely in love with this song and the video as well.

So I guess that makes me a fan now.  I can't say that I'm an actual Duranie, I'm far from it.  There are far too many nuances involving Duran Duran that I am not aware of, and so so many songs that I have yet to hear.

Do I love them as much as I love a-ha and Kajagoogoo?  Let's just say their in third place right now in my top ten.  Do I get their music now?

Do I really need to? ;)