The Cars got their start in Boston in the early 70's, and for their fifth album in 1984, they teamed up with mega-producer "Mutt" Lange to create a huge hit album. We discuss all of it here in this extremely fun episode.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Magic playlist, on Spotify
The Cars, "Magic" official video, on YouTube
The Cars, on Spotify
When one of the biggest bands and one of then most iconic singers in the world find themselves in the same place at the same time, magic is bound to happen, as it did in the case of Queen and David Bowie's collaboration, "Under Pressure." It's quite a song, and quite a story.
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RELATED LINKS;
Our Under Pressure playlist, on Spotify
Queen & David Bowie, "Under Pressure", on Spotify
Queen & David Bowie, "Under Pressure", official music video, on YouTube
We mentioned on a previous episode (actually, Todd did) that Kenny Loggins is the soundtrack king of the 80's, but now it's time for Todd to put his knowledge to the test, as Blaine challenges him to name all of the songs.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Soundtrack King of the 80's playlist, on Spotify
Kenny Loggins, on Spotify
Where do you even start with Spinal Tap? They set the standard for parody documentaries (otherwise known as 'mockumentaries') and influenced many bands and movies in the ensuing decades. Todd was even lucky enough to see them perform live on the Break Like The Wind tour. It was super fun to tell the story of this band.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight playlist, on Spotify
Spinal Tap, on Spotify
This Is Spinal Tap, at IMDB
The 80's were famous for soundtracks. Some of the biggest and best of all time came from back then. We explore a list created by JoBlo, which rounds up some of the usual suspects but also provides a few surprises. Let's get into it.
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RELATED LINKS:
JoBlo Top 10 Soundtracks of the 80's
Our JoBlo-Inspired Top 10 (?) Soundtracks of the 80's playlist, on Spotify
Hired Gun documentary, art IMDB
This episode is a very special two-bands-for-for-the-price-of-one conversation.
Bourgeois Tagg. Does this band ring a bell for you? We would be surprised if it they do, but their song "I Don't Mind At All" is fantastic, and we think you'll agree.
Similarly, Freiheit are a German band known for a song from the soundtrack to the movie "Say Anything" (we discussed the song on that episode as well) that was also featured on American Idol. Best Paul McCartney song he never wrote.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our I Don't Mind At All playlist, on Spotify
Bourgeois Tagg, on Spotify
Freiheit, on Spotify
Münchener Freiheit, on Spotify
Bourgeois Tagg, "I Don't Mind At All" official video, on YouTube
Freiheit, "Keeping the Dream Alive" official video, on YouTube
"Keeping the Dream Alive" as performed on American Idol
Vinnie Vincent, "That Time of Year" official video, on YouTube
This song and album was one of the bigggest from the 80's, as well as the most controversial for its use of an anti- gay slur. Mark Knopfler was and is one of the best guitarsts around. We delve into all of it.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Money For Nothing playlist, on Spotify
Dire Straits, on Spotiy.
Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing" official video, at YouTube
Under the Volcano (2021) documentary, at IMDB
COVER YOUR EARS:
Colt Clark and the Quarantine Kids
As a member of The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson wrote many of the world's most famous surf songs, despite being afraid of the water and not knowing how to swim. After he'd stopped performing with them live, he went on to write some of the best and most beloved songs of all time. He also had a very tragic and strange life story, as we discuss in this episode.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our RIP, Brian Wilson playlist, on Spotify
Brian Wilson, on Spotify
The Beach Boys, on Spotify
"The Beach Boys" documentary, on Disney +
Love and Mercy, at IMDB
Behind the Sounds documentary series, on YouTube
The Wrecking Crew! documentary, at IMDB
Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me documentary, at IMDB
Brighter Day: A Jellyfish Story book, at Kool Kat Musik
This is a little different discussion than our usual fare. Blaine has recently rekindled his love of CD's, due to the audio limitations of the most common formats like MP3 and streaming, so we talk about all of it, as well as comparing streaming vs. CD vs. vinyl records. Quite interesting and fun.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our What Have You Been Missing? playlist, on Spotify
Cyndi Lauper is a phenomenon. Her first album, "She's So Unusual," sold millions of copies, and her songs continue to be some of the most memorable and influential of all time. There is much more to her story, however, and that's what we discuss this time.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Girls Just Wanna Have Fun playlist, on Spotify
Cyndi Lauper, on Spotify
Cyndi Lauper, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" official video, on YouTube
COVER YOUR EARS:
Not30, "Time After Time," on YouTube
This time around, we're discovering another fun internet list, found for us by Blaine. We love these things because A) they're super fun, and B) they take no research or preparation. Just sit down, read through the list, and Bob's Blaine's uncle.
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RELATED LINKS:
The original article by Jolina Mandicho, 50 Albums From the 80's That You Need to Hear Before the World Ends
Our 25 Albums to Hear Before the World Ends playlist, on Spotify
As we've discussed before, Kiss are a difficult band of which to be a fan. Todd is a fan, however, and has many of their albums and a T-shirt. Blaine is indifferent about them. In this fun and hilarious episode, we dive deeply and compare the best and worst songs from the band's extensive catalog.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our The Best and Worst of Kiss playlist, on Spotify
Kiss, on Spotify
In this episode, we discuss the songs from the 80's that spent the most weeks at the #1 spot on the pop charts. Be sure to click down to our playlist to listen to the full versions of these great songs.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Most Weeks At #1 playlist, on Spotify
Madonna,"Like A Virgin" official video, on YouTube
Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, "Say Say Say" official video, on YouTube
Irene Cara, "Flashdance" official video, on YouTube
Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger" official video, on YouTube
J. Geils Band, "Centerfold" official video, on YouTube
Kenny Rogers, "Lady" official video, on YouTube
Blondie, "Call Me" official video, on YouTube
Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean" official video, on YouTube
Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, "Ebony and Ivory" official video, on YouTube
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" official video, on YouTube
The Police, "Every Breath You Take" official video, on YouTube
Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, "Endless Love" official video, on YouTube
Kim Carnes, "Bette Davis Eyes" official video, on YouTube
Olivia Newton-John, 'Physical" official video, on YouTube
Kiss are one of the biggest bands of all time. Are they one of the best? Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but they're certainly one of the most interesting, and we join their story at what is arguably the heaviest and most interesting point, 1982's album "Creatures of the Night."
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Creatures of the Night playlist, on Spotify
Kiss, "Creatures of the Night" album, on Spotify
Kiss, "I Love It Loud" official video, on YouTube
Vinnie Vincent, "Boyz Are Gonna Rock" official video, on YouTube
Redd Kross, "Stay Away From Downtown" official video, on YouTube
Chuck Klosterman, "The Definitive, One-Size-Fits-All, Accept-No-Substitutes, Massively Comprehensive Guide to the Life and Times of Kiss", at grantland.com
Kiss, "A New Era Begins" avatar video, on YouTube
45 Minutes of Paul Stanley Stage Banter
Star Trek episode explanation The Inner Light, on YouTube
Paul Simon is one of most venerable and some would say inscrutable songwriters out there today. After a string of hits in the 60's and 70's, he was coming off of a couple of unsuccessful albums in the 80's. Looking for inspiration, he turned to the music of South Africa and created the album Graceland, which was a huge success and completely revitalized his career. We discuss the album's hit, "You Can Call Me Al."
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RELATED LINKS:
Paul Simon, on Spotify
Our You Can Call Me Al playlist, on Spotify
Paul Simon, "You Can Call Me Al" official video, on YouTube
Bronski Beat were a synth pop trio from London who may have been fairly short-lived, but were very influential, especially with the gay community at the time. They were very politically active, and ahead of their time. Their enduring hit "Smalltown Boy" is our subject this time.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Smalltown Boy playlist, on Spotify
Bronski Beat, on Spotify
Bronski Beat, "Smalltown Boy" official video, on YouTube
Framed Youth documentary, on YouTube
All Out! documentary, on YouTube
There were two musical synthesizers that revolutionized the way music was made in the late 1970's and all through the 80's, the Synclavier and the Fairlight. The least expensive model cost the equivalent of a small house, and the most expensive model was the equivalent of a smallish mansion. More similar than they were different, they would help some of the greatest musicians of the time to create their biggest hits, and we delve into it here. We also mention their spiritual predecessor--and Todd's favorite instrument--the Chamberlin, as well as their tiny concurrent sibling, the Casio SK-1.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Synclavier vs. Fairlight playlist, on Spotify
Kevin Malony Synclavier documentary, on YouTube
The Fairlight Story, on YouTube
Mellodrama, the Mellotron/Chamberlin documentary, trailer, on YouTube
Bobby McFerrin is one of the most famous musicians on the planet. He's been a singer, a conductor, a music ambassador, and even a pop star. But he's also written one of the most polarizing one-hit wonder songs of all time, which was both recognized by the Library of Congress and ridiculed by Public Enemy. Lots to explore in this episode about an incredible and venerable musician.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our Don't Worry, Be Happy playlist, on Spotify
Bobby McFerrin, on Spotify
Bobby McFerrin, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" official viideo, on YouTube
Playing For Change, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" video, on YouTube
Playing For Change official web site
In this episode, Blaine guides us through 10 hit sonts with controverisal or problematic subject matter that wouldn't be released today. This list came from one of his infamous trips down the proverbial rabbit hole.
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RELATED LINKS:
Our 10 Songs That Couldn't Be Released Today playlist, on Spotify
Formed in Los Angeles in 1983 and currently based in Portland, Animotion have one of the best one-hit wonder songs of the 80's, and are still around performing and releasing new albums to this day. We're here to tell the story of the song, "Obsession."
Conn eat with us at tapeheadspod.com
RELATED LINKS:
Animotion, on Spotify
Animotion, "Obsession" official video, on YouTube
"A Night in Heaven" movie trailer, on YouTube
"Runaway (1984)" movie trailer, on YouTube
COVER YOUR EARS:
Terminatryx, "Obsession", on YouTube
