Popdose - Latest Comments in CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Robert — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 13:05:55 -0000

Hurts, don't it?

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Jason — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:21:09 -0000

sigh

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Robert — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 11:22:59 -0000

One more thing -- I had no idea that "Sussudio" and "Voices Carry" peaked during the summer of '85 instead of the spring, thanks to my memories of when I saw their videos over and over again on MTV, and I didn't think the world knew who Whitney Houston was until the fall of '85. It's interesting what each of us remembers and how we remember it.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Robert — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 11:16:58 -0000

My computer's been repaired! Let my rambling comments begin again!

"Into the Groove" wasn't a single? I had no idea. It was on MTV all the time in '85, but I just looked in my Top 40 book and it's not listed. You don't complete me, Jason, but you do teach me. I don't remember "Angel" at all.

When I accidentally turn on my little boombox at work but haven't yet plugged in the headphones, I subject my coworkers to a semi-guilty pleasure like Vertical Horizon, never anything certifiably cool. 'Til Tuesday used to be first on my iPod as well, but then my first iPod broke in January of '06, and I didn't restore "Voices Carry." The first song then became "Belleville Rendez-Vous" by -M- (as opposed to "Pop Muzik" by M), but it looks like Apple has improved its iPod alphabetization system since last year, because now a-ha's "Take on Me" is first.

I still like "Voices Carry," but I don't see the Missing Persons connection either, Jeremy. And how attractive are YOU, sir? I went through an Aimee Mann phase seven years ago when I was in a post-college depression that lasted almost four years. Once I came out of that funk, I bought Mann's 2002 album "Lost in Space," which was new at the time, and didn't like it. I still think "Bachelor No. 2" and "I'm With Stupid" and her songs on the "Magnolia" soundtrack are great, but they also take me back to a time in my life I don't care to revisit. Sorry, Aimee. But she really is a great songwriter and vocalist. I just wish I'd discovered her at a happier time in my life.

Paul Young's version of "Everytime You Go Away" is definitely better than Hall Oates's. I think it has something to do with those synthesizer sounds and the slightly faster tempo. It's one of my favorite songs from that time period.

Ahh, Whitney. She really was a great singer (and pretty damn sexy) back in the '80s and '90s, even if some of her singles don't hold up so well anymore. But there is good stuff on that first album, including a number with Jermaine Jackson called "Take Good Care of My Heart."

Did you know that Steven Bauer's real name is Rocky Echevarria? Did you care? No. But so what? Of all the actors with major parts in "Scarface," he was the only Cuban-American, I believe. Pacino, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio -- the Italian-American interpretation of the Cuban-American dream comes alive!

"A Night in Heaven" sounds great. John G. (not L., sir!) Avildsen seems to have had a "wilderness period" between "Rocky" in '76" and "The Karate Kid" in '84. He directed the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd comedy "Neighbors" in 1981, and those two reportedly hated Avildsen so much that they discussed hiring a hit man to kill him. Some of their friends weren't sure how serious they were. Do I see Jan Hammer and Deney Terrio's names on the poster? Woo-hoo! And it's nice to see that Joan Tewkesbury, who wrote "Nashville" and directed Belushi in a movie called "Old Boyfriends," is the writer of "A Night in Heaven." Do you think the final film strayed from her original script just a tad?

"Raspberry Beret" did indeed have a colorful, joyous video. I remember MTV playing it on the hour, every hour, the day it premiered. It's one of my favorite Prince songs. Too bad "Around the World in a Day," the album it came from, wasn't all that interesting. But you can't beat lines like "She wasn't too bright / But I could tell when she kissed me / She knew how to give a kiss."

Pat Boone had a problem with "dance into the fire"? Because of the satanic connotations or because he thought kids might try to dance in their own fires? A decade later Pat would be covering heavy metal songs as a joke, only to be smacked down himself by ultra-conservative Christian organizations.

Jason, I like "Sussudio" too. It's fun, so let it go, cool kids! But I never noticed the "1999" connection until you mentioned it. Now I'll never hear "Sussudio" the same way again.

"Now now, Baron Von Snarkypants, avowed Wham fans don’t get to diss on prancing and shoulder pads." BURN! "That’s 'Wham!', dammit." PROOFREADING BURN!

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

DwDunphy — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:55:18 -0000

Are you saying Annie's no longer the Adam's Apple of your eye?

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

quinn — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:29:14 -0000

I think Annie Lennox just made my top 5 laminated list for the day after I turn gay.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Rebecca — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:57:40 -0000

Used to see Mr. Sklar out and about in Pasadena when I lived down there. Always funny to see him running around town with his ZZ Top issue beard!

'Til Tuesday's first album is ok, though obviously over-engineered by record label management. Mann really blossoms as a songwriter on the next two. The last 'Til Tuesday album and her first solo album, Whatever, are excellent.

To me, the Missing Persons rip off tag only fits if you see nothing more than two bands fronted by blonde women in the 80s. Obviously, your mileage or attractiveness may vary.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Jeremy — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:33:05 -0000

Til Tuesday is just a Missing Persons rip off and Aimee Mann couldnt be any more unnattractive. Im sick of seeing them in any format.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Betty Rocker — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 22:22:38 -0000

If this is the only Til Tuesday song you know, I'll email you their other hit Coming Up Close which is, in my ear, as good as VoicesCarry. Stay tuned.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Christy — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:54:56 -0000

I remember loving the video to Would I Lie To You? and thinking I HAD to have that dress Annie Lennox was wearing. I still have the Be Yourself Tonight album, because I kinda dug There Must Be An Angel, too.Now, try not to laugh yourself silly but as to Raspberry Beret...it makes me think of umm....men's privates. I was 16 when this came out and naive, I had never see a real 'one.' So another 16 year old friend of mine who had seen 'one' proceeded to give me a description, and she uttered, It's just like the Prince song...the top looks like a raspberry beret!Ahh the good old days.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Carlos — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 10:41:09 -0000

SpaderZabka

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

DwDunphy — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 00:50:27 -0000

See, Jason fails to remember a solitary fact that keeps Sussudio, even if covered by a reformed Pavement, out of Stereogum: there's no room for it among all the Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse posts.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Old_Davy — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:06:34 -0000

'Sussudio was a damn catchy song in 1985 and while nobody will admit to liking it now, I guarantee you that once an indie band covers it, Stereogum will lose their shit.' Thanks for making me laugh so hard I spewed Diet Coke all over my monitor, Jason.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Jason — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 22:43:24 -0000

1) That's Wham!, dammit.

2) Find me a clip of George Michael singing a note like LeBon and you'll have a point!

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Beau — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 21:54:52 -0000

Coming Up Close was a great song. So good that the other ballads on this chart are steaming bowls of elephant piss by comparison.

The best thing about Raspberry Beret is the cover by Hindu Love Gods. That's R.E.M. minus Michael Stipe, plus Warren Zevon.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Dw Dunphy — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 19:42:38 -0000

Ill have to check with my brother, but I think he still has the soundtrack to A Night in Heaven. Why? It was the only place you could get the song Heavenwhen it first came out. And since he had a mobile DJ company that did a lot of high school dances, he had to get the song since there were so many requests for it. I guess that makes sense. All those poor bastards in the 1980s thought they were getting laid on prom night. Instead, their date had this...

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Ted — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:37:31 -0000

Duran Duran's performance on that song just reinforces the fact that they were a video band. Talk about boring! 'Til Tuesday was a brilliant band -- well, their last two albums. Voices Carry is the one song that keeps getting airplay, but Coming Up Close and (Believed You Were) Lucky were wonderfully sad songs that didn't chart very high, but we much better than He said Shut up! Shut up! Oh God, Can't You Keep It Down! I'll have to check with my brother, but I think he still has the soundtrack to A Night in Heaven. Why? It was the only place you could get the song Heavenwhen it first came out. And since he had a mobile DJ company that did a lot of high school dances, he had to get the song since there were so many requests for it.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Dw Dunphy — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:56:12 -0000

The only good thing about Heaven was the video with the audience of televisions. Voices Carry was the last creepy-cool new wave tune to really catch top 40 radio, which means, I suppose, 'Til Tuesday killed it (and Gary Numan's hiding in a dark corner, crying about it to this day). And what about Would I Lie To You? This was when Eurythmics kicked everybody's ass because we all thought it was this weird synth pop thing. Then they hit us with the 1-2 punch of this song and Missionary Man. Finally, I liked Sussudio better when it was called No Reply At All.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

MichaelWSP — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:51:33 -0000

Maybe a little less concentration on prancing and shoulder pads would have resulted in a more favorable outcome

Now now, Baron Von Snarkypants, avowed Wham fans don't get to diss on prancing and shoulder pads.

With that said, that was a horiffic boning of a high note. I'm glad you have immortalized it forever, or until Simon LeBon's people find it and have you eliminated.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

dan s. — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:34:24 -0000

Into to the groove is one on my top ten, love that four-note synth bit in the chorus. Also I'm a sucker for songs about music.Voices Carry was a new aquintance, and a good one at that. Ol' Dirty Bastard (RIP) covered Sussudio on the Urban Renewal cd. I don't know why I've never listened to that. Must find it now methinks

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

Richard Brandt — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:16:48 -0000

A Night in Heaven, and thank you for cramming that image back into my brain.

A friend of mine always thought of that as Prince's Raspberry Yoplait song.

Re: CHART ATTACK! #39: 7/6/85

thefax — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:57:14 -0000

Welcome Home, is due for a re-evaluation (Pocket guide, jefito?)--the first album's a bit too new-wave slick (not a bad thing in my book, but I'm in the minority), the second tempers the slick just enough to feature Aimee's songwriting, which, as always, is brilliant. They're a band that deserves to be known for more than the one hit.

8. Isn't "Come Back and Stay" a Paul Young original? I think it was US Top 40 as well (allmusic's loading too slowly for me to check)

4. I knew the Brian Adams/Night In Heaven thing because Casey Kasem mentioned it every week this was on the charts. I used to wonder if he was one of the producers or something. Wasn't this the 4th single from Restless? I miss the days when you could pull 5-6 singles off an album.

2. Duran Duran pretty much ends here--a lot of their later singles are excellent, and I think The Wedding Album is their best record, but the bad idea/good idea ratio becomes badly misaligned. They sounded great at the Diana concert last weekend.

1. "Sussudio" is a dumb song that tries to utilize the Duran Duran Lyric Gambit (idiotic lyrics that sound superficially clever) but fails because the dumbest lyric is the title. Still, I'll admit the funky snyth-bass is catchy, and I'd bet a remixer would work miracles on the track.