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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Def Leppard

  • MisenPOPic- Why 80’s Dance Parties Irk Me!!!

    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 Sunday Shuffle: Sweet, Tasty Love

    Uh…hmmm…I don’t have a witty comment with which to start this thing off. I will say that the 80GB iPod I have now had for almost a year is approaching capacity, so I’m starting to uncheck songs that I’m sort of lukewarm on. Y’know, if, like, anything from Mariah Carey’s “Unplugged ” album comes on shuffle, I’m gonna skip it anyway, so why have it there in the first place?

    Anyhow, you know the rules…7 songs, completely random fashion. Current tally: 16,794 songs (I have no idea how many of them are unchecked).

    Track 1: “(They Long To Be) Close To You” by The Carpenters:

    Actually, the first time I heard this song when I was a kid, it wasn’t Karen Carpenter singing it, but Diana Ross. Miss Ross hosted a TV special back in 1971 (it featured The Jackson 5, Bill Cosby and Danny Thomas), and she performed a rendition of this song on the show and it’s soundtrack. Her version has nothing on The Carpenters’ version, however. This is as good as 70s easy listening pop got. Karen was truly a great emotional singer, and you can’t beat the harmonies here (especially on headphones…fucking wow). I must admit, it’s so cool listening to this song without a video to latch your memory on to, because that way I can mentally picture a flock of birds buzzing around Karen’s lover when he pops up and giggle a little.

    Man, I know it’s a cliche, but this woman’s voice breaks my heart every time I hear it.

    Track 2: “Tasty Love” by Freddie Jackson

    For those of you who weren’t riding the quiet storm in the mid-Eighties, Freddie was not a member of the famous singing family, but a New York City balladeer who basically went on to become a poor man’s Luther Vandross. Actually, for a period in the Eighties, he was BIGGER than Loofa, and if memory serves, he had more #1s during the decade than not only Mr. Vandross, but Michael and Janet as well. This smoove ballad was the first single from his sophomore release, “Just Like the First Time”, an album that spent a mind-boggling 26 weeks at #1 (that’s half a year, folks) on the R&B albums chart. Sort of funny to think that Freddie was the guy riding the top of the charts during a period when so many albums with less chart success have gone on to be more influential in the long haul-Janet’s “Control”, Anita Baker’s “Rapture” and Run-DMC’s “Raising Hell” among them.

    I met Freddie in person six years ago, and I’d be surprised if he and Mr. Vandross didn’t have at least one other thing in common. That man was sweeter than a box of chocolates. Check him out with that woman in the video. They’re probably drinking Riunite on Ice. And he’s probably thinking about her hot younger brother.

    Track 3: “Plantation Lullabies” by Me’shell Ndegeocello

    The very brief (1:14) instrumental title track from the debut album by one of the most underrated R&B artists of the Nineties, and the best female bass player in history (granted, she’s at the head of a very small field). I love this album to death, although many others listen to this album and are a little freaked out by her militance (is that a word?).

    Track 4: “Run Riot” by Def Leppard

    Although I wasn’t familiar with the song, I recognized it as Def Lep within 5 seconds…those guys (and producer Mutt Lange) had a pretty damn recognizable sound back in the Eighties. Joe Elliott’s voice sounds a little higher than usual on this song, almost like he’s channeling AC/DC’s Brian Johnson.

    Slightly related aside: I was at karaoke with friends a year or so ago, and someone decided to sing “Pour Some Sugar on Me”, a song I’d always enjoyed despite not paying a hell of a lot attention to the lyrics. As the song’s words flashed on the screen, I’ve gotta admit I was a little taken aback by how a song with such absolutely silly lyrics could have become such a big hit.

    Hmmm…I wonder why “Hysteria” and “Pyromania” are not available on iTunes?

    Oh, I saw their new video on VH-1 Classic recently, which features Tim McGraw. Definitely two great tastes that do not taste great together.

    Track 5: “Magazines” by The Hold Steady

    I actually just bought the latest Hold Steady album, “Stay Positive”, a couple days ago. I wound up buying their last album, “Boys & Girls in Amerca”, thanks to a ton of press hype and truth be told, it’s a pretty good record. This is my first taste of anything from the new album, and it sounds like…the last album. This song chugs along in a manner very similar to “Born To Run”-era Springsteen, although lead singer Craig Finn, despite being a good singer on his own (and pretty hot besides) doesn’t have half of The Boss’s charisma. Or Danny Federici on organ. Or Clarence Clemons playing the sax.

    Track 6: “The Coolest” by Lupe Fiasco

    Considering I went absolutely gaga over the Chicago rapper’s debut album, “Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Lquor”, his second album (“Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool”) has left me strangely lukewarm. I don’t think it’s bad. It just hasn’t grabbed me the same way. Maybe I haven’t given it the chance it deserves. Maybe it’s a grower? Maybe it’s just not as good. That said, Lupe’s one of the most talented new emcees out there, and the fact that this album was certified Gold is one of the few things that makes me feel good about being a hip-hop fan nowadays.

    Track 7: “Now at Last” by Feist

    I’m proud of myself for discovering Feist at least a few months before she became a star (thanks to the iPod commercial and that annoying-ass video). She reminds me of what Norah Jones would sound like if she took more drugs. Maybe it’s just because she’s Canadian and all of the Canucks I’ve met in person have a sort of warped, offbeat personality behind those square, polite exteriors. This is a pretty straightforward piano ballad. It could have been recorded in 1936 or 20006. If you haven’t checked her out, please do so, and check out her debut album, “Let it Die” before you pick up her more recent “The Reminder”. It not only contains this beautiful song (having her and Karen Carpenter bookending this setlist is strangely appropriate), but she does a killer cover of The Bee Gees’ “Love You Inside Out”, which was actually the song that introduced me to her.

    Till next week, I’m shufflin’ off (oh, STOP! The jokes are KILLING me!!)

  • New Releases 4/29/08: Madonna, The Roots and More!!!


    Last week was so bereft of quality releases that you knew there was going to be an overflow this week. How fitting that my last new release Tuesday in NYC is going to find me spending a LOT of money!! Here’s the hotlist:

    Madonna “Hard Candy”: Madge is back, she’s dropping the final album on her Warner Brothers contract, and she’s finally dropped the electronic flavorings that she’s favored for the last decade in favor of the R&B-leaning pop that she began her career with. Of course, working with Reggie Lucas, Chic and Jellybean Benitez in ’83 means working with Timbaland, Pharrell and Kanye West in 2008. It’s certainly not her first flirtation with hip-hop/R&B (see “Bedtime Stories” and “Erotica”), and if lead single “4 Minutes” is any indication, we might be getting the best Madonna album since “Ray of Light”. Not bad for a 49-year old mother of three, eh?

    http://www.madonna.com/

    The Roots “Rising Down”: Another act wrapping up their contract, The Roots are ending their ill-fated tenure on Def Jam with a bang. “Rising Down” is a pointedly political work (which means that it will be severely bungled by the Def Jam folks), featuring cameos by Roots album mainstays like Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Interestingly enough, the most commercial song on the album (“Birthday Girl”, which features Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump) was ultimately dropped from the album because it didn’t fit thematically. Well, thematic continuity or no, The Roots’ creative resume is damn near impeccable, and their last three studio albums have been almost perfect, so great things are expected from me on this one.

    http://okayplayer.com/

    Portishead “Third”: Anchored by the sultry/creepy vocals of Beth Gibbons, Portishead helped kick off the British trip-hop movement with 1994’s classic album “Dummy”, an album that still gets heavy rotation in my CD player. After a 10 year absence, Beth and instrumentalist Geoff Barrow are back. Although the reviews I’ve read of the album have been almost uniformly awful (and Barrow has not made any friends in the press, slinging darts at the likes of Danger Mouse and Prince), I’m still interested to hear what the duo has come up with after so long apart.

    Home page

    Estelle “Shine”: Estelle also comes from across the pond. The young singer is the first artist released on John Legend’s Homeschool Records. Given Legend’s star power (and the industry’s current fixation with British female vocalists), it’s no surprise that Estelle’s debut features a star-studded cast including Kanye West, will.i.am and Mark Ronson. First single “American Boy” is cute enough and has gotten a pretty good buzz. Can Estelle follow in the (musical, not personal) footsteps of Brit divas like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen?

    http://www.estellemusic.com/

    Robyn “Robyn”: I posted a blurb about Robyn a month or two back, when “The Rakamonie EP” was released, and her self-titled full-length album (her first American release in a decade…what is UP with some of these artists) hits stores today. Most of you who remember her obviously do so from the singles “Show Me Love” (not to be confused with house music diva Robin S., who *also* had a 90s hit called “Show Me Love”) and “Do You Know (What It Takes)”. Well, she’s grown up, she has an attitude problem, and she’s making some of the best pure pop music around right now. She’s kinda like Fergie, only GOOD.

    http://www.robyn.com/

    And that’s not it, folks!!! Augustana try to stave off one-hit wonderdom with their sophomore release, “Can’t Hurt, Can’t Love”, Def Leppard’s “Songs From The Sparkle Lounge” is their latest attempt to stave off irrelevance, former neo-soul guitarist/vocalist Lyfe Jennings offers a more commercial side on “Lyfe Change”, complete with T.I. and Snoop Dogg cameos, teenage girl rapper Lil’ Mama’s debut FINALLY hits stores a year after “Lip Gloss” became a Top 10 hit, British soul singer (and critical fave) Jamie Lidell drops “Jim” today, Mudcrutch (the band that eventually became Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) release their self-titled debut today (which may be this week’s sleeper hit), we have new albums from punk legends Mindless Self Indulgence and rock en espanol legends Mana, rock legend Steve Winwood (fresh off a tour with Eric Clapton)and hipster fave Santogold.

    Damn. Do you think folks could have thrown some of this stuff into last week when there was nothing out worth mentioning? Geez.

    Happy shopping!!

    Oh…and get a complete list of this week’s releases here: http://www.pauseandplay.com/cdfront.htm