I discovered Tempted in 1994. As someone who was not listening to college radio in 1981 (cut me some slack, I was five), the only Squeeze I’d heard was (what I believe was) their lone Top 40 hit, 1987’s Hourglass. So, if I can thank the Reality Bites soundtrack for anything at all, it would be for introducing me to the greatness that is this song.
Ever listen to a song and have a nagging suspicion that “this voice sounds familiar but I just can’t place it”? Well, imagine my surprise when I found out that the voice behind this song (most of it, anyway) was Paul Carrack, who scored a handful of hits as a solo artist (Don’t Shed a Tear almost made this list), in addition to being the lead singer of Seventies one hit wonders Ace (How Long) and the Genesis side project Mike & the Mechanics. The guy gets around, yeah?
His soulful delivery, combined with the superior storytelling skills of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook and the production of Elvis Costello (who knew?) has made Tempted a modern-day classic, even though it never hit the Top 40 on the American pop charts (wow, that was a run-on sentence).
As a bonus, here’s the video for How Long, which would have made it pretty high if there was an Infatu-seventies column. Hmmm, that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well.
Bars and clubs all across the country promote their 80’s nights every weekend. As a fan of 80’s music, you would think I would want to hit the 80’s nights and enjoy the sounds. You thought wrong! Because the dim-witted DJ’s refuse to play anything out of the ordinary because the paying customers don’t want to think outside the box. We’ve all been reading Mike Heyliger’s outstanding Infatueightes countdown to know there are more than just the same 40 danceable tunes that came out of the 80’s. Isn’t it the DJ’s job to inspire with new sounds and different beats?
Don’t they get tired of spinning “Come On Eileen” and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” on a constant basis? I get frustrated when I hear the opening notes to the same tunes, so much I want to find a stick and repeatedly hit the DJ over and over and over again for having no sense of originality. It pains me when I request a song from Dokken, and they don’t even know what I’m talking about. I’m not saying the DJ even has to play obscure songs that you read about in my Out There! column. Mix it up! I envy these guys and girls, don’t they realize they have the best job in the world?
Here are some examples of songs we hear all of the time that need to be removed from the weekly playlist immediately, or else we still continue to dumb down the musical educations of future generations!
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard
Now look, I’m a huge Leppard fan, maybe one of the biggest Def Leppard fans on the planet. Pour Some Sugar was one of my favorite songs until I’ve heard it replay thousands of times over the years at dance clubs and bars. Does the DJ realize there are other fast-beat songs/hit songs on the same album (Hysteria)? Why not think outside the box and play Animal? That will get people singing along. “An I Want, An I Need, An I Love, Animal! C’mon, I just got that stuck in your head. You telling me if you were drunk and you heard this anthem, you wouldn’t start shaking about. Can’t we give some loving to some other pop metal bands like Ratt and Poison as well. And I don’t mean hearing “Nothing But A Good Time” which is another bar staple.
Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi
Do the 21 year olds understand that this song has overstayed it’s welcome? It’s a fun song to dance to with a group of friends, this I understand. But aren’t there a whole slew of songs from the 80’s just like this from corporate rock giants such as REO Speedwagon and Journey? Wouldn’t “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” be a song to huddle up with your buddies and belt out the worlds. “Some day love will find you,break those chains that bind you..” You know the rest. Guitars and keyboards just like the Bon Jovi classic, c’mon DJ, put that record on.
Come On Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight Runners
You know when the opening of this song comes on, people are getting ready to throw up their legs and pretend they are a Rocktette. Do aye do aye do aye do aye YAY! Ugggh! Can’t we maybe replace with a fun 80’s tune from a similar band like Men At Work or Madness? How about “House of Fun”, it could work and get people lifting their legs in the air? You know, I haven’t heard “Who Can It Be Now” at a bar in a few years, this might just work also.
I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston
Another R&B 80’s staple that is sometimes played more than once in the night. Is it supposed to automatically remind the girls that there are tons of meat int the bar and they need to dance with some of them? How about “The Neutron Dance” by the Pointer Sisters? I’ve always defended this song as a classic dance hit that hasn’t aged one bit. I never understood why I have never heard this song ever at a club. It has a great beat, is totally familiar to the naked ear, and heck, the DJ can even work up some new steps and create a new dance sensation to compete to the Electric and Cha Cha Cha slides.
Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield
The DJ always has to include the 80’s pop rock tune. Another great tune, but does it need to be played every time? There are other pop/rock songs just as good. How about something from J. Geils Band? “Love Stinks” or “Freeze Frame”?
Tainted Love by Soft Cell
You know it’s not a true 80’s night without this staple. Doesn’t the DJ realize there are plenty of syntho-pop songs that would work so “Tainted Love” can be played every fifth night instead of every night. How about some lesser-known gems like “Space Age Love Song” from A Flock Of Seagulls or “Love Plus One” from Haircut 100? A lot of bands experimented with synthesizers in the 80’s, is “Tainted Love” the only one that still works? I think not.
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
I know, I know, it’s the popular tune for all the girls out there. But if Girls want to have so much fun, how about kicking off the shoes to “Girls” by Dwight Twilley (if you don’t know this one, you will in a future Out There! column) or “Valley Girl” by Frank Zappa?
And the list goes on and on. The clueless DJ’s need to do their homework. Watch old MTV clips on youtube, do some research on Wikipedia, sample songs on iTunes, read this blog!! Play some more Rick Astley! Play some more Human League! Play some more A Flock Of Seagulls! Play some Romeo Void or Yaz! Play some more lesser known hair-metal bands. Play something else off of AC/DC’s Back In Black besides “You Shook Me All Night Long”! Hell play more Michael Jackson and Madonna, just play different songs you don’t hear on a constant basis! Because the next time I hear “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey even if it’s remixed with a dance beat, I’m gonna drop my pants and pee all over the DJ’s equipment!
Oh how I miss the Culture Club! Although come to think of it, they could have used some lessons as well!!
The cover of the Christmas Wrapping 45 by The Waitresses
I’m not sure if this was a New York thing, but starting when I was 10 or 11, I would hear “Christmas Wrapping” on the radio constantly. For a long while, I wondered “Hmmm, where can I get that Blondie Christmas record?”, since the deadpan vocals of Patty Donohue matched the somewhat bored tones of Deborah Harry-at least to my ears.
Wasn’t till about maybe ten years later until I found out the song wasn’t performed by Blondie after all. Talking to a friend about something or other, they casually mentioned that the chick who played bass on “The Rosie O’ Donnell Show” used to play for The Waitresses. “Who the hell are the Waitresses?”, I asked. My friend mentioned “I Know What Boys Like” and “Square Pegs”, both of which I was vaguely aware of, and then proceeded to sing a few bars of “Christmas Wrapping” to me.
“You mean that’s not Blondie?”
I’m pretty sure I had a copy of “The Best of The Waitresses” within a week (might have even been within a day, seeing as I was working at a record store at the time).
Anyhow, the bassist’s name was Tracy Wormworth, the guy that formed and led the band was named Chris Butler, the singer (as mentioned before) was Patty Donohue (since sadly departed), and The Waitresses were one of the most underrated bands of the decade, as I retroactively discovered.
Despite the sarcastic edge usually displayed on Waitresses songs, “Christmas Wrapping” is actually fairly sweet from a lyrical standpoint. The song’s protagonist is a single woman whose plans to meet up with a guy she met in a ski shop keeps hitting snags. Resigned to spending the holidays alone, she heads out to A&P to pick up some cranberries, and lo and behold, there’s her guy. By some strange twist of fate, wouldn’t ya know it, he forgot cranberries too!
Supreme storytelling aside, this song is also easily one of the most festive holiday songs ever recorded. It’s certainly one of the most danceable, and the horns blasting on every chorus (and on the song’s bridge) are certain to inspire intoxicated dancing around the Christmas tree.
Way better than “Do You Know It’s Christmas” and “Last Christmas” (the only two songs that would even be close in contention as the best holiday song of the Eighties), “Christmas Wrapping” is the alpha and omega of festive holiday cheer…and it’s even survived a horrid Spice Girls cover.
I discovered Tempted in 1994. As someone who was not listening to college radio in 1981 (cut me some slack, I was five), the only Squeeze I’d heard was (what I believe was) their lone Top 40 hit, 1987’s Hourglass. So, if I can thank the Reality Bites soundtrack for anything at all, it would be for introducing me to the greatness that is this song.