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Tag: Infatueighties

  • The Infatueighties Countdown: #102: “Talking in Your Sleep”

    Chances are that if you’re aware of who The Romantics are, it’s either due to this song or “What I Like About You”, a song I guess I was too young to latch on to when it was originally popular (well, there’s also the fact that it wasn’t that big a hit initially). Regardless, despite the fact that “Talking in Your Sleep” was a significantly bigger hit, “What I Like” has had the more lasting influence thanks to being played at sports events and in commercials constantly. Which kinda sucks, because “Talking in Your Sleep” is a much better song (although “What I Like About You” does have the awesome harmonica solo).

    The cover of The Romantics\' 1983 album \"In Heat\", which contained the hit single \"Talking in Your Sleep\".

    I guess this is where power-pop meets the dance floor. I dig the chiming guitars and the killer bassline (and the lyrics were very easy to remember for a 7-year old), and of course you’ve gotta love the echo effect that comes at the end of every line during the verses. Plus, it’s extraordinarily easy to dance to…this was right at the beginning of the post-“Beat It”/Duran Duran phase when songs like “Dancing in the Dark” and “Out of Touch” had crunchy guitars and danceable grooves…and according to Wikipedia, it actually hit #1 on Billboard’s Dance Music chart. Thanks, again, Wikipedial

    I will say, though, that I don’t remember ever seeing the video until looking for a YouTube clip this morning, and…wow. All I can say is “wow”. The chicks in nighties, the bad special effects, the lead singer’s hair (what hell??)…it’s almost too much to take. So delightfully Eighties.

    Apparently, a British group named Bucks Fizz covered the song shortly after The Romantics’ version became a hit. The versions are reasonably similar (down to the echo in the verses), but The Romantics’ version has a bit more kick to it. You’ve also got to give The Romantics’ props for using live drums, while the Fizz version appears to rely on a $10 Casio drum machine. Judge for yourself.

  • The Infatueighties Countdown: #103: “Easy Lover”

    I would imagine that back in the Seventies, if you’d have told the average rock music fan that the heavily falsetto-ed lead singer of Earth Wind & Fire would be recording music with the drummer from Genesis, you would get a ton of quizzical stares. By 1984, the idea of that happening didn’t seem so farfetched-especially since EWF’s Philip Bailey had already launched a solo career with 1983’s “Continuation” and Genesis’s Phil Collins had moved from behind the drum stool to become the band’s lead singer. Oh, and there’s also the fact that Collins borrowed EWF’s horn section for portions of his first solo record, 1981’s “Face Value”. In the vein of other ebony/ivory duets like “Say, Say, Say”, “Yah Mo B There” and…uh, “Ebony & Ivory” came “Easy Lover”, a song that trumps (almost) all of the aforementioned superstar pairings.

    The cover of Philip Bailey\'s \"Easy Lover\" 45 (featuring Phil Collins)

    Turns out Bailey’s voice is pretty well-suited for punchier, rock-etched tunes in addition to his band’s sumptuous ballads and slick funk jams. Some guys have all the luck. Collins-who was mere months away from becoming ubiquitous thanks to “No Jacket Required”-pulls out a legitimately soulful vocal here. Plus, that huge drum sound that marks just about everything Collins produces had yet to become boring yet.

    And you’ve gotta love the silly video. Makes you wonder why Collins never made it as an actor. Hey, if Bob Hoskins and Kevin Spacey can score roles…

    Lyrically, the song is just one bro looking out for another bro. “Dude, that chick is dangerous, watch out!”. I figure one Phil was just checking for the other Phil’s best interests. It’s doubtful that Bailey would want Collins for himself. Although, with that falsetto…

    The song peaked at #2 in early 1985, giving Bailey his last Top 10 hit either with his band or as a solo artist, while reaching #3 on the R&B charts, giving Collins the first of two Top 10 R&B hits (“Sussudio” peaked at #8 the following summer).

  • The Infatueighties Countdown: #104: “Invincible”

    The Infatueighties Countdown: #104: “Invincible”

    There are exactly three movies I remember seeing in the movie theater during the summer of 1985: “Back to the Future”, “Pale

    Pat Benatar Invincible Cover
    Pat Benatar Invincible Cover

    Rider” (who takes a 9-year old to see a Western??), and a little film called “The Legend of Billie Jean”, which, despite the time period of it’s release, was not about a woman who said Michael Jackson was the father of the kid.

    While I’ll leave the specifics of the plot to the folks at “I Love The 80s” (ahhh…it involved a stolen bike…thanks Wikipedia), I do remember that it starred Helen Slater (of “Supergirl” fame) and a very young Christian Slater (no, the two are not related, although I thought they were for years). Somewhere along the line, Helen (as Billie Jean) chopped off her long tresses in favor of a blond Joan Jett-esque look and started screaming “fair is fair!” at everyone within a 50-foot radius. To support this sudden lunge into badassitude, the writers of the movie needed a badass theme song, and they knew just who to call: Pat Motherfuckin’ Benatar.

    Benatar spends this aggressive rocker emoting like the opera student she once was, snarling lines like “We can’t af-FORD to be innocent! Stand up and FACE the enemy!” with some serious ‘tude. It’s the type of spit-in-the-face-of-authority that attracts every mousy kid who dreams of being a badass. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much.

    “Invincible” marked the end of a killer run for Benatar. During the years 1980-1985, she sold millions of albums, scored a handful of Top 10 hits (with “Invincible”‘s #10 placing marking the last of those), and won four Grammy Awards (all for Best Female Rock Performance). This song was pretty much the last gasp for her as an icon, and she quickly lost traction to the likes of Madonna, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson (and Tina Turner, who owned the Female Rock Grammy for the next several years).

    According to Wikipedia (man, I love those guys), “The Legend of Billie Jean” has never been released on DVD. Someone needs to fix that one stat. I’d buy a copy.

    One thing I didn’t realize until I was watching one of VH-1’s 80s retrospectives is that Yeardley Smith plays a fairly major role in this movie. Who’s Yeardley Smith, you may ask? Most folks know her better as the voice of Lisa Simpson.

    Finally, anyone notice that the bridge of this song sounds almost exactly like the beginning of U2’s “Two Hearts Beat As One”?? Check it out for yourself.