Tag: 1986

Sunday’s Theme Music

Today’s theme choice began as I slapped my head and asked, “What am I thinking? Where is my mind?”

I was annoyed with myself for being distracted, feeling like I haven’t been remembering things as I should (and partially blaming writing because I was becoming more intense about it).

Then, “Where is my mind?” circled through again. Parts of a song were seen and heard like minnows flashing in and out of a creek’s shadows. I believed that I knew such a song. I thought, well, I can search for it on the net but I wanted to give myself the chance to remember it.

More song peeked out. I remembered, oh, a movie. Wait, is that right? Yes, yes, there was a movie, the song was used in a movie. I remembered that the movie was Fight Club, and then, like it was beamed into my brain, I recalled, oh, the Pixies, “Where Is My Mind?” That made me laugh. I wasn’t sure what year the song emerged and had to look that up (and also confirm that it’d been used in Fight Club). Yes, to the movie, and 1988.

Listening to this song always makes me smile. Don’t know why. Wow, where is my mind?

 

 

 

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Monday’s Theme Music

“There is freedom within, there is freedom without…”

As I was thinking about my dreams this morning — there’s been a staggering dream surge in the past two weeks — those lyrics from the song by Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” (1986), entered my thinking stream.

The song was released at a busy time for me. I was in the military, stationed in South Carolina. I’d traveled a lot that year and the previous year – Egypt, Somalia, Delaware, Florida (multiple times). I’d been assigned to South Carolina (Shaw AFB) in the previous year (1985) after four years in Japan, at Kadena (Okinawa). Then, suddenly, in October, I had notification of a new assignment, for three years in Germany, reporting in December.

Thinking of the dreams and the song just brought all of that surging out of me. Lot of places, lot of flights, a lot of faces, a lot of time away from home and my wife. Since then, I retired from the military (1995) in California and moved to Oregon, worked in start-ups, and then with IBM for fifteen years. It was a chaotic life, but seemed normal.

“Hey now, hey now, don’t dream it’s over. Hey now, hey now, when the world comes in.
They come, they come to build a wall between us. You know they won’t win.”

Yes, but sometimes it feels like an uphill fight to get to where you want to be. Does the battle ever end? I supposed I could simply stop fighting and accept whatever will be.

Yeah, I know, more first world whining. I’ve had more options, freedom, and success than many ever find.  I made those decisions and choices. I wouldn’t change it. It brought me to where I am, for better, for worse.

And it’s not over.

 

 

 

 

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Today’s music emerges into the stream from interactions with others – hearing tales and stories, wondering about the truth, searching for nuances of understanding about who they are and what they’ve gone through.

Pictures of the situations pool and splash, shifting with more, diluting with doubts. Just one clear moment, you know?

That invites the old Little Feat song, “One Clear Moment” (1989).

I see you cryin’ and I don’t know why
The way you look you should be flyin’ high
In that one clear moment

h/t to Genius.com

Little Feat was already in my head, as one of the members Paul Barrere, passed away. Some reflection is always demanded when one of those that provided the music to our lives departs the scene.

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Friday’s Theme Music

Thinking of symbiotic relationships and current politics lured the 1986 AC/DC song into my stream this morning, “Who Made Who”. That’s always the question, innit, as relationships and people morph under the pressures and stresses of who they are and who they want to be versus how they respond and re-balance. Add to it the ever-shifting windows of what we see in ourselves and others, and what others see in us, and it becomes a real pickle, to use some fancy phrasing.

Sit back, crank it up, bang your head, and relax. You’ve survived another week…so far…

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Going through some papers yesterday evening, I decided, I’m throwing this all away.

My mind is like Siri or Alexa. “Playing Genesis, “Throwing It All Away”.

Me: “What? No! I never — ”

“Throwing It All Away” begins.

Me: “Stop it! Stop it!”

But the mind no longer hears. It’s singing along. “Throwing It All Away” continues on an endless loop until I go to sleep. Then it starts up again this morning.

So, here’s a little soft pop-rock for you day. From 1986.

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Ah, 5150, the album that ignited the Van Halen wars: who is better, David Lee Roth, or Sammy Hagar?

I didn’t care. 5150 (1986) was a rockin’ album. I listened to it enough that when I hear song from it even in me head, the rest of the album continues in sequence.

Of course, I always mess around with lyrics, and that’s how “Why Can’t This Be Love”  entered my mental stream. I was looking for something to eat. While plucking at some melon pieces and thinking about what to have for lunch, I asked myself, “Why can’t this be lunch?”

 

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

After another night of multiple, interesting dreams (some involving playing games), I was mocking myself this morning. “These dreams go on when I close my eyes,” I said to the cats, who were not looking at me nor listening to me (because, the cats were all thinking — I could see it in the spread of their whiskers, the glints in their eyes, and the tilt of their ears — “The others are here, and who knows when one of those other cats will lose it and attack me, so I must stay vigilant!”), “but it feels like I’m thinking about them every second that I’m awake.” Of course, I was close to the song lyrics from “These Dreams”,  a 1986 Heart hit.

“These Dreams” sounded different from Heart’s earlier music, IMO, but I liked the song. (Confession: I like songs ’bout dreams. It might be because I dream often, and seem to remember them.) Of course, the band’s line-up had changed, too, another reason for the different sound. Not long after buying Heart’s album, I discovered that Martin Page and Bernie Taupin wrote the song. Ah, hah.

The other aspect of this song, heavily noted during the song’s time on the pop chart, was that Nancy Wilson sang lead vocals instead of Ann, even though Nancy had a cold.

Ah, trivia.

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Walking before writing, heading toward the coffee shop, almost there, I checked my steps and saw 5150. Oh, Van Halen, I thought, which was an immediate invitation for my mind to begin streaming in songs from 5150 (1986).

This was the first album with Sammy Hagar as the lead vocalist, replacing David Lee Roth. I remember that a friend hadn’t like either singer for the band. He thought Roth was too flamboyant and his skills didn’t impress him. However, Sammy Hagar wasn’t the answer in my buddy’s mind because, with Sammy, Van Halen performed softer rock. I recall trying to suggest other vocalists to him, like Ronnie James Dio. We didn’t come up with a new singer.

I never saw him again as our military tours completed and we went separate ways. I always wondered what he thought of Gary Cherone as the singer.

Here’s “Why Can’t This Be Love”.

 

 

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Thursday’s Theme Music

I was watching an episode of The Americans last night. I enjoy how clothing, cars, news, and pop-culture, like music, is used to convey the year.

They used “We Do What We’re Told” by Peter Gabriel (So, 1986) in the episode I watched. I thought the music was effectively employed, with the lyrics fitting the situation and the characters’ thinking and decisions.

The song’s words are simple and repetitive

we do what we’re told
we do what we’re told
we do what we’re told
told to do

one doubt
one voice
one war
one truth
one dream

h/t azlyrics.com

I thought the song’s appropriate for now, when so many people seemingly respond to news by saying, “Hey, I believe him,” without applying any critical thinking to it. I imagine them telling others in a few years, “Hey, I was just doing what I was told,” or, “I was just following orders.”

 

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Dipping into Wang Chung today. I featured “Dance Hall Days” once. This time I’m going with a favorite walking song, “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” (1986), which I often call, “Everybody Wang Chung Tonight” because of that line in the song. It’s an excellent walking song when I’m feeling optimistic or jubilant.

As an aside, a co-worker at the time hated this song. A major fan of Ratt, Judas Priest, and Rush, he felt music by groups like Wang Chung used too much techno to be true music.

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