I used to have the Billboard Hot 100 chart from this very week tacked on my bedroom wall. How very cool to see you discuss part of it here.
breadalbane
· 1 year ago
The drummer for that band called Spider is none other than Late Night's very own Anton Fig. If you can track down their two albums, they're actually quite good in an 80's Pat Benatar-ish sort of way. They later changed their name to Shanghai and made a third LP which I've never heard...,
Jules Shear's Watch Dog is also a stem-to-stern winner, assuming you can get into Jules' voice. (He's an enthusastic singer, and he knows his limitations, but he's not to all tastes.) The songwriting's impeccable, though, and the backing band is none too shabby either: Stephen Hague, Elliot Easton, Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta, with production (and the odd guitar solo) by Todd Rundgren.
And as for "I Just Called To Say I Love You"...I really can't bring myself to dislike it. Actually, taken for what it is -- a cute throwaway song designed to be hidden on a semi-obscure film soundtrack -- it's perfectly fine. It's not Stevie's fault that it got wildly overplayed.
****************
What's all this talk of Happy Thanksgiving, by the way? Thanksgiving was weeks ago!
(I guess here in Canada, we're always ahead of the trends...)
Cheers, everyone!
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
We were giving thanks that our neighbors in Canada weren't giving us crap for having our Thanksgiving so late. Thanks for ruining the brotherhood between our countries!
Why does someone always have to ruin the holidays for me?!?>
breadalbane
· 1 year ago
Maybe you'll get back into the spirit of things by Canadian Christmas, which falls on December 6.
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
Already have. My Copy of Bruce Cockburn's Christmas Album arrived today.
EightE1
· 1 year ago
As always, well done, Jason.
Why would Bruce Hornsby want to hide his association with Sheena Easton? Imagine how many groupies he got in the ... Sheena Easton Band!
Man, listen to the harmonies in the chorus of that Jules Shear track. His voice is kinda crumm ... I mean, an acquired taste, but three or four or five iterations of his voice singing harmony is pretty cool.
And sorry, dude, but "I Just Called" blows. This is the man who wrote "Superstition" and "Master Blaster" and "As" and "Sir Duke." He should be smacked with the same switch Brenda sent Lionel outside for.
Rob EightE1
Bill from Illinois
· 1 year ago
Fond memories of pretty much all of these songs -- OK, maybe not "I Just Called" -- but the best part of this whole entry was the very last paragraph. All hail the coming of Mellowmas! I am happy just thinking about it, yet somehow afraid...
Gigi
· 1 year ago
Synergy or shameless self promotion? Both, perhaps...my own musings on Sheena, Billy, Wham! and the Prince/Chaka connection are available for comparison on MySpace and Wordpress...
Gigi
· 1 year ago
Google "Gigi's Gen-X Singalong"
KellyStitzel
· 1 year ago
I don't know how rare they are, but one of my favorite record store finds this year was this promo 45 of "Better Be Good To Me":
That's cool -- I've never seen one of those. I'm trying to imagine it on the turntable, though. How far do the heels stick out?
Rob EightE1
KellyStitzel
· 1 year ago
The feet don't stick out far at all - maybe an inch or so at the farthest. I only played it once, then I ended up framing it.
My hmphs
· 12 months ago
Everytime I see that Cosby Show episode, I'm reminded of "Jammin' on the One!"
Thanks for the Spider video. Tina now sounds like a pretender.
partoba
· 12 months ago
This is damn great. This really reminds me the old days. Purple Rain-damn this used to be my favorite song. Wham! Thanks for reminding me this. And, the best I found this link from Uncertain Principles blog. Whew!
All Comments
Jules Shear's Watch Dog is also a stem-to-stern winner, assuming you can get into Jules' voice. (He's an enthusastic singer, and he knows his limitations, but he's not to all tastes.) The songwriting's impeccable, though, and the backing band is none too shabby either: Stephen Hague, Elliot Easton, Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta, with production (and the odd guitar solo) by Todd Rundgren.
And as for "I Just Called To Say I Love You"...I really can't bring myself to dislike it. Actually, taken for what it is -- a cute throwaway song designed to be hidden on a semi-obscure film soundtrack -- it's perfectly fine. It's not Stevie's fault that it got wildly overplayed.
****************
What's all this talk of Happy Thanksgiving, by the way? Thanksgiving was weeks ago!
(I guess here in Canada, we're always ahead of the trends...)
Cheers, everyone!
Why does someone always have to ruin the holidays for me?!?>
Why would Bruce Hornsby want to hide his association with Sheena Easton? Imagine how many groupies he got in the ... Sheena Easton Band!
Man, listen to the harmonies in the chorus of that Jules Shear track. His voice is kinda crumm ... I mean, an acquired taste, but three or four or five iterations of his voice singing harmony is pretty cool.
And sorry, dude, but "I Just Called" blows. This is the man who wrote "Superstition" and "Master Blaster" and "As" and "Sir Duke." He should be smacked with the same switch Brenda sent Lionel outside for.
Rob
EightE1
Front: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/2662708103_...
Back: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3226/2663531742_...
Best $7.99 I've ever spent.
Rob
EightE1
Thanks for the Spider video. Tina now sounds like a pretender.
Thanks for reminding me this. And, the best I found this link from Uncertain Principles blog. Whew!