Tag: 1982

Saturday’s Theme Music

I walked two miles this morning prior to my writing session. As I did, I thought, man, it already feels hot. Sweat was soaking my shirt, hat, and shorts. I knew from checking the weather that it had already been in the seventies but that the heat index was about six degrees hotter.

It felt it. It fortunately didn’t feel like the one hundred nine degrees reported in Denver, thank the fates. As expected for me, I began streaming songs about heat, and ended up with this Billy Idol gem from 1982, “Hot in the City”.

 

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Thursday’s Theme Music

How ’bout a little ditty about “Jack & Diane”? I always thought I could hear a sneer in John Cougar Mellencamp’s voice when he sang, “Two American kids doing best they can.” The song captured so much of small town Americana and references, how and where they’re hanging out, hopes, dreams, attitude and clothing.

So let it rock.

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Saturday’s Theme Music

I’ve always enjoyed the domestic image this song, “Our House,” produces. Whoever wrote it was looking back on a working class household. The song was released in 1982. Hearing the lyrics, I wonder how much of it would be written differently. Would Dad still put on his Sunday best? Does Mother still iron his shirt before he goes to work?

Something to think about.

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Saturday’s Theme Music

I’m a Kinks’ fan. Saw them once in concert in Germany. Beautiful venue, which seemed more suited to ballet and opera than rock.

This song,”Come Dancing,” from State of Confusion, is a later release. I didn’t know about the song’s back story for years. Its sound is a throwback with elements of bepop to me in parts, and invites dancing.

State of Confusion was an interesting album. My favorite song on it was “Long Distance,” a wistful, but depressing song. But when I compared album thoughts with others, I discovered the song wasn’t always on every album, a fact that a Brit friend confirmed.

Anyway, “Come Dancing.”

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Today’s Theme Music

The Alan Parsons Project was a progressive rock band. I enjoyed them, but honestly, lots of my friends didn’t care for them. Apparently the music the Alan Parson Project released was too mellow for that lot. The heyday of their music was in the late seventies, when groups like Kiss and other glam rockers were deafening stadiums of people.

So, I seemed mostly alone in my Alan Parsons Project admiration. One particular song was “Eye In The Sky.” Using this song as inspiration, I wrote a short story about the eye in the sky watching humans. No, it was never sold. It’s probably in a drawer, somewhere, though. I don’t throw writing out. I leave that to others.

Take a listen and see what you think of the song. It came out a little later, in nineteen eighty-two. Let me knows if it moves you to sleep, as it moved my friends. Cheers

 

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Today’s Theme Music

Feeling like a rebel today.

At first, I thought, gimme some power chords. Nirvana came to mind, with “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” “Here we are now, entertain us.”

But, then, naw…”Rebel Yell” began streaming, and quickly segued into one of my favorite Billy Idol tunes, “White Wedding.” “It’s a nice day to start again.”

It’s cooler today, with a projected high of just eighty-eight under clear blue skies. Definitely a nice day to start again. Here it is, Billy Idol, from nineteen eighty-two, when I was just a wee man of twenty-six years. Boy, what would need to be sacrificed to be twenty-six again, hey?

 

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Today’s Theme Music

Remember the 1980s. Oh, fer sure. Like, totally, unless you were, like, spaced, or an airhead, you know.

Yes, the lingo, influenced by Valley Girls living in the San Fernando Valley, spread across the country until it kinda, like, gagged you with its syntax and mindless expressions. Frank Zappa captured the essence of valspeak in his nineteen eighty-two hit, “Valley Girl.” “Valley Girl” was a big departure to Zappa’s music for me. I’d grown up on dishes of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. His songs carried a hard satirical commentary about American values and commercialism. That’s why I dug him.

Here’s “Valley Girl,” featuring Frank’s daughter, Moon Unit.

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Today’s Theme Music

Back at it. Things usually don’t work out as expected or desired for me. I plan for a reasonable knock-off of the best and forge forward. Yeah.

I have this thing going on, this writing thing. Besides the arc of learning, there are the arcs of success, not just with a career, but with each novel, every effort and each writing day. Some days, I want to chuck it. Those days are infrequent and come about when I’m hunting for something I think is missing. I’ll not give up. In the immortal lyrics of Judas Priest, “You think I’ll let it go, you’re mad, you got another thing comin’.”

Here they are, singing all about it back in nineteen eighty-two. Hope it helps you crystallize your determination.

Now, nose down, time to write like crazy, at least one more time.

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Today’s Theme Music

We listened to a lot of music while I was stationed on Okinawa in the early 1980s. Drank a lot of beer, too. Smoked a lot of cigars, played a lot of Risk and worked a lot. We also went to college.

Anyway, back to the music thing. The Internet wasn’t around. CD players and Compact Discs were just emerging. For reference, the hot new computer was the TRS 80.

So we played a lot of vinyl, recording it onto more portable, user friendly formats. One album that came out then was Foreigner 4, by Foreigner. Several hits were on that album, including this song, ‘Juke Box Hero’. Later generations and listeners might be familiar with the song through its commercial use.

Stream it in your head as you’re walking around dreaming of heroes and villians.

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