1980s – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes – Havin’ A Party

When that chorus kicks in, I’m in heaven. It sounds like early sixties greatness, and it’s just fun to sing along with. I’ve never been to New Jersey, but Southside Johnny and Springsteen make me feel like I did. Asbury Park has served as a musical mecca for decades. I’m hoping that one day I will get there.

This is not just a cover of the Sam Cooke standard; it is a full Jersey Shore revival meeting, led by Southside Johnny, who sounds like he has lived every lyric and is still catching his breath. When I see him perform on film, he performs with the audience rather than for… in what I’ve seen. He gets them involved and everyone has a good time.

I love this version because he doesn’t try to out-sing Sam Cooke, because who could? You can hear him reacting in real time, stretching lines, yelling encouragement as he feeds off the band as much as they feed off him. They are built to hear live, and they live up to that job.

It was on the album Havin’ a Party With Southside Johnny, released in 1979-1980. This song on the album was live, and it’s from 1976. The song was written by Sam Cooke and released in 1962. The original version peaked at #17 on the Billboard 100 and #30 in Canada in 1962. Rod Stewart also did a version that charted in 1994.

Havin’ A Party

Yeah, everybodyYeah, get every one apartIs there a problem, whooCan we do this now

We’re havin’ a partyEverybody’s swingingDancing to the musicOn the radio (we’re on our way, man)So listen, Mr. DJKeep those records playing (alright)‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

We’re having a partyDancing to the musicPlayed by the DJOn the radioCokes are in the ice boxPopcorn’s on the tableMe and my babyAre out there on the floor

And we’re havin’ a partyEverybody’s swingingDancing to the musicOn the radioSo listen, Mr. DJKeep those records playing‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

Everybody’s swinging (oldies)Oldies, doing the twist nowIf you take requestsI’ve got a few for youDon’t forget the soul twistPlay that one called “I Know”I got to hear what suites meNo other songs will do

And we’re havin’ a partyEverybody’s swingingDancing to the musicOn the radioSo listen, Mr. DJKeep those records playing‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby‘Cause I’m having such a good timeDancing with my baby

Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Baby, is alright (baby, is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)

Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Is alright (is alright)Baby, is alright (is alright)

…

John Mellencamp – The Authority Song

Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying

This is the last weekend of 2025. I wanted to post some rocking songs I thought you would enjoy. I wish all of you a Happy New Year.

I always joke about how my sister has really bad taste in music, but this time she steered me right. She bought an album by him before he was a superstar. It was before Jack and Diane and his mega hits from his American Fool album. She bought Nothing Matters and What If It Did, released in 1980. The two songs from that album that really hooked me were To M.G. (Wherever She May Be) and Ain’t Even Done With The Night, which might still be my favorite song by Mellencamp. So, when he broke big with American Fool, I wasn’t too surprised, and I loved the guitar and the sound he had compared to his chart peers.

This song was my theme song (I was 16) when I heard it. Yes, I could relate perfectly to it and still can. Mellencamp told people at the time that this was his version of “I Fought The Law.” He released the album Uh-Huh in 1983. This is when I became a big fan. He had that ’60s rock and roll feel with his music, plus some good lyrics. This album contained many of my favorite songs by him, like Pink Houses, Play Guitar, Crumblin’ Down, and this song. I like it better than American Fool, which this album was the follow-up.

His next album, Scarecrow, was probably his best, but with this one, his sound changed to more of a heartland sound. He shared that with Springsteen, Petty, and a few others. Those were the mainstream artists I clung to. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard album charts, #9 in Canada, and #92 in the UK in 1984. He had 5 singles from this album. The Authority Song peaked at #15 on the Billboard 100 and #41 in Canada in 1983.

I always thought that this was Mellencamp at his most honest, turning frustration into a song. It’s rock and roll’s nature to know authority usually wins, but still believes you’ve got to push back anyway.

The Authority Song

They like to get you in a compromising position
They like to get you there and smile in your face
They think, they’re so cute when they got you in that condition
Well I think, it’s a total disgrace

I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I’ve come out grinnin’
I fight authority, authority always wins

So I call up my preacher
I say: “Gimme strength for Round 5”
He said: “You don’t need no strength, you need to grow up, son”
I said: “Growing up leads to growing old and then to dying,
And dying to me don’t sound like all that much fun”

I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I’ve come out grinnin’
I fight authority, authority always wins

I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I’ve come out grinnin’
I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I fight authority, authority always wins
I been doing it, since I was a young kid
I’ve come out grinnin’
I fight authority, authority always wins

Jayhawks – Blue

After I found out about this band in 2000, I had to know more. This song would rank high on the list of my favorite songs of all time. When Olson and Louris lock in on “Why don’t you stay behind? So blue.” they hit that sweet spot that gives me chills. This is the kind of sadness you can hum along to. To me, they are a modern version of Big Star in many ways. They never could buy a hit, but released some excellent music.

The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul music scene in the mid-80s. Minneapolis had a strong scene for bands in the 1980s. Gary Louris and Mark Olson built the early band around harmony singing, country roots, and the spirit of the Flying Burrito Brothers, which was not exactly the fashionable choice in a town dominated by Hüsker Dü, the Replacements, and Prince. The Jayhawks went more for warmth and melody instead of loudness. They have a little of The Flying Burrito Brothers mixed with Big Star in them.

Olson eventually left the band to focus on family and a quieter life, leaving Louris to carry on with the Jayhawks. Still, whenever the two reunited, even briefly, the chemistry returned. Their 2008 duo album (Ready For The Flood) and subsequent tours proved the bond still worked.

The song was on the album Tomorrow the Green Grass, an album many fans still consider their masterpiece. They recorded the album between Los Angeles and Nashville, a setup that gave it an open feel. Producer George Drakoulias understood that the Jayhawks’ feel wasn’t in piling on big sounds, it was in letting the songs breathe…and breathe they did. This song was written by Mark Olson and Gary Louris.

The album peaked at #92 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1995. The song peaked at #33 in Canada. They recently backed Ray Davies on his albums Americana and Our Country – Americana Act II. Their 2016 album, Paging Mr. Proust, was produced by Peter Buck of REM.

They combine country, folk, rock, and pop with good harmonies.

Gary Lourist: Mark was tired of the grind of playing the game, going to the radio stations and being a low- to mid-level success. I think it just wore him out. He was always frustrated by all the waiting. The Jayhawks made just seven records in 20 years, so there was a lot of it. The Creekdippers did it very organically and made lots of records. But the main thing was that he wanted to be with his wife.

Gary Lourist: What brought Mark and me back together? It started way back with The Rookie, a mediocre Dennis Quaid movie about an older pitcher who makes the big leagues. The producer or the director was a Jayhawks fan, and they wanted a new Olson/Louris song. Olson’s manager called my manager, and the next thing you know, I’m driving out to Joshua Tree. We talked through our old issues. We wrote a couple of songs that day. They didn’t make it in the movie, but it got us thinking that we still really had something when we got together. So we started doing some tours, but we didn’t have any new material, so that lead us to Ready For The Flood, and that led us to the new Jayhawks record.

Blue

Where have all my friends gone?
They’ve all disappeared.
Turned around maybe one day, you’re all that was there.
Stood by on believing, stood by on my own.
Always thought I was someone, turned out I was wrong.
And you brought me through and you made me feel so blue,
Why don’t you stay behind?
So blue. Why don’t you stop, and look at what’s going down.

If I had an old woman she’d never sell me a lie
It’s hard to sing with someone who won’t sing with you.
Give all of my mercy, give all of my heart.
Never thought that I’d miss you, that I’d miss you so much.
And you brought me through and you made me feel so blue.
Why don’t you stay behind?
So blue.
Why don’t you stop and look at what’s going down.

All my life (staying while) I’m waiting for (staying while)
Someone I could (waiting around) show the door
(now that I’m blue) but nothing seems to change (that I’m blue from now on)
You come back that month so blue.
Why don’t you stay behind?
So blue.
Why don’t you, why don’t you stay behind?
So blue.
Why don’t you, why don’t you stay behind?
So blue
Why don’t you stop and look at what’s down

Big Country – Fields Of Fire

I first found out about this band in the 1980s with a dose of a bagpipes sound with the song Big Country. The first thing I thought of was BIG…not because of the name. The song came out of the radio like an elephant. The drums and the sound were so huge. This one has the same effect on me, a large sound, but it isn’t sanitized and polished to death.

It was released in 1983 on the album The Crossing. This was their debut album, and it made them known throughout the world. Steve Lillywhite produced this album and track. This came at a time when he was emerging as one of the top producers in the business, known for his work with Peter Gabriel and U2.

As I mentioned earlier, they incorporated a bagpipe sound into their songs, and they utilized the E-bow effect on their guitars. E-bows (Electronic Bows) are handheld, battery-powered devices that create infinite sustain and harmonics on stringed instruments, especially electric guitars, by generating a magnetic field that vibrates the strings, mimicking the effect of a violin bow. They enable guitarists to produce synth-like sounds, bowing effects without the use of a traditional pick. Now I want one!

Here is an example of one:

I did it again…drifted too far into guitar effects, but I just cannot help myself.

Stuart Adamson formed this band in 1981 in Scotland. Adamson was their main songwriter and the lead singer. He was joined by guitarist Bruce Watson, bassist Tony Butler, and drummer Mark Brzezicki. They would go on to release 9 studio albums and 18 live albums. They would release 29 singles, and 16 ended up in the top 40 in the UK.

Fields of Fire peaked at #10 in the UK, #26 in New Zealand, and #52 on the Billboard 100. This album peaked at #18 on the Billboard Album Charts, #4 in Canada, #3 in the UK, and #8 in New Zealand in 1983.

In 1999, they released their last album with lead singer Stuart Adamson, called Driving to Damascus but without much success. Adamson moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s, where he met country music singer/songwriter Marcus Hummon, and together they released an alternative country studio album as The Raphaels in 2001.

Fields of Fire

Between a father and a sonBetween the city and the oneBefore the teacher and the testBefore the journey and the rest

The shining eye will never cryThe beating heart will never dieThe house on fire holds no shameI will be coming home again400 miles without a word until you smile400 miles on fields of fireBetween a woman and a boyBetween a child and his toyBetween a woman and a boyBetween a child and a toyBefore the following of the westBefore the journey and the rest400 miles without a word until you smile400 miles without a word until you smile400 miles on fields of fire

…

Jason and the Scorchers – Absolutely Sweet Marie

I first heard this band in the 1980s in Nashville. A rock band that even hit the MTV playlists. When I first posted them years ago I didn’t think I would get a huge response. People from outside of Nashville and the surrounding states had probably never heard of them, or so I thought. People from New Zealand, UK, and around the world had heard of this band. They were big on college radio and they had many ties with Nashville and played here quite often. I can’t really explain how much of a powerful band they were in a live setting.

I first heard them do a live version of “The Race Is On”…the old George Jones song, and it won me over. They were really a big deal in the southeast in the mid-eighties and should have spread more. Their music seemed to have a kinship to the Georgia Satellites and The Blasters, but they were a little more country. They did have some MTV play with Golden Ball and Chain. The best way to describe them is they lived in a place where country met punk, where Hank Williams shook hands with the Ramones. This is before I found The Replacements, so this excited me to hear real rock and roll on the radio and live.

They turned Dylan’s Absolutely Sweet Marie into a barn burner of a song. What I love most is how natural it feels. They didn’t force a punk edge onto Dylan; they exposed one that was there all along. Jason Ringenberg charges into the lyrics like a man trying to outrun a tornado on an open highway.

This song came out in 1983 and was on their Fervor EP. It was released by a small label called Praxis, but they were signed by EMI, and they re-released the EP the following year. Jason had to convince his bandmates to cover this, and I’m thankful they agreed. They broke up in 1989 but have reunited off and on since then. The last time was in Nashville last year. Jason continues to release solo albums.

In the video of the song, you can see them going into Tootsies Orchid Lounge, a famous place in Nashville that I’ve haunted a few times in the 1980s and 90s.

Absolutely Sweet Marie

Well, your railroad gate, you know I just can’t jump itSometimes it gets so, so hard, you see.I’m just sitting here beating on my trumpet,With all these promises you left for me.So where are you tonight?Where are you tonight, sweet Marie?

Well, I waited for you when I was-a half sickWell, I waited for you when you hated me.Well, I waited for you inside the frozen traffic,When you knew I had some other place to be.

Where are you tonight?Where are you tonight, sweet Marie?Well, I don’t know how it happenedBut the riverboat captain, he knows my fate.Let’s do this baby, even you maybe, It’s just gonna have to wait, wait, wait- Yeah!

Where are you tonight?Where are you tonight, sweet Marie?Well, anybody can be just like me, obviouslyThen again not any of them are like you, fortunately… fortunately!Six white horses, that you did promiseWere finally delivered to the penitentiaryBut to live outside the law, you must be honest, darling.I know you will always say that you agree.So, where are you tonight?Where are you tonight, sweet Marie? Alright!Where are you tonight? Where are you tonight?Where are you tonight, sweet Marie?

…

Meteors – Shout So Loud

How would I describe this band in one word? FUN. That sums it up perfectly, plus a really tight trio. The Meteors are a perpetual Halloween. They combine rockabilly, monsters, SciFi, and punk, with an energetic and fun vibe. The band called it psychobilly, and they weren’t kidding. If you ever wondered what would happen if Gene Vincent rose and decided to visit the punk clubs of London, you’d get something like The Meteors.

I had forgotten about this band. Years ago, I remember stumbling across Shout So Loud on an old cassette that looked like it had survived a fire. The label was half-melted, but when it kicked in overdrive, I knew I’d found something great here. This wasn’t Dad’s rockabilly. The Meteors took the twang and swing of the 1950s and drove it through a wall. This band has released 24 studio albums, 29 singles and LPs, 15 live albums, and 21 live albums. They are still releasing albums; in 2024, they released 40 Days a Rotting. This song was on their debut album In Heaven released in 1981.

The band was formed in 1980 and was one of the founders of “psychobilly.” The band was founded by P. Paul French on guitar, Nigel Lewis on electric and upright bass, and Mark Robertson on drums. They released their first album in 1981 and continue to this day. P. Paul French is the only original member still with the band. There was also a Dutch new wave band called The Meteors that was active from 1977 to 1982..but you won’t get them confused because they were power pop.

If you want something different, this is the band to listen to. You have rockabilly as the root of this tree, but it has that punk vibe stamped all over it. Below is their debut album.

I couldn’t find a good live version of this song, so I’m posting a short clip of them live.

Shout So Loud

Well they let me out that place I was
I was being good because
There ain’t nothing to do from night till noon
Then sit here in my nice soft room
The doctor said he’d fix my head
I’m gonna shout so loud I’m gonna wake up the dead

Well those great minds the can’t be wrong
Though I’ve been crazy all along
Now I’m normal just like you
Tell you what I’m gonna do
Find a wall and bang my head
Then I’ll shout so loud I’m gonna wake up the dead

I’m gonna find a bar and a woman to
And have a real good time
Gonna jump and shout and knock myself out
Yeah really lose my mind
Get so crazy out of head
And shout so loud I’m gonna wake up the dead

Then they take me back again
But you said that I was sane
Take be back and lock me up
And make sure that the doors tight shut
The walls are soft I can’t hurt my head
But I can shout so loud I’m gonna wake up the dead

….

John Fogerty – I Saw It On TV

The coon-skin caps, Yankee bats, the Hound Dog man’s big start
The A-Bomb fears, Annette had ears, I lusted in my heart

When I bought the Centerfield album in 1985, this was one of the first songs that I listened to. Despite the hits like Centerfield and Old Man Down the Road, the pop culture gold in this song drew me in. That shouldn’t surprise any of my readers about me, even in 1985.

This is the song that broke Fogerty’s writer’s block he had for a decade. He wrote the rest of the album after this song. It chronicles history from the 50s to the 70s. While fishing, he started to think about the things he’s seen on TV as a young boy: the Eisenhower inauguration, the Yankees, the Mickey Mouse Club, Elvis Presley, The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show, etc. The story continued on through the sixties, Vietnam, and then Watergate.

Musically, it is classic John Fogerty with acoustic guitars underneath that golden voice. There is no clutter or overproduction, just the songwriter and the story. The track moves like a scrapbook, each verse turning another page. Fogerty always had a knack for pulling feelings out of memories. He does it here like he is sitting across from you around the kitchen table.

I Saw It On TV was not a hit but a very good album track. The song concludes with the riff of the intro of “Who’ll Stop the Rain.” The Centerfield album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand, and #48 in the UK in 1985. The song was recorded at The Plant Studios in San Francisco.

Robert Hilburn from The Los Angeles Times: “The album’s most affecting tune, however, may be “I Saw It on T.V,” a look at the way television has programmed so many shared emotions into the post-’50’s generation. In the song, Fogerty traces the liberating effect of Presley’s arrival, the idealism of the Kennedy years, the loss of innocence after his assassination, the celebration of the Beatles, the tragedy of Vietnam and the corruption of Watergate.”

I Saw It On TV

They sent us home to watch the show comin’ on the little screen
A man named Ike was in the white house, big black limousine
There were many shows to follow, from ‘Hooter’ to Doodyville
Though I saw them all, I can’t recall which cartoon was real

The coon-skin caps, Yankee bats, the Hound Dog man’s big start
The A-Bomb fears, Annette had ears, I lusted in my heart
A young man from Boston set sail the new frontier
And we watched the Dream dead-end in Dallas
They buried innocence that year

I know it’s true, oh so true
‘Cause I saw it on TV

We gathered round to hear the sound comin’ on the little screen
The grief had passed, the old men laughed, and all the girls screamed
‘Cause four guys from England took us all by the hand
It was time to laugh, time to sing, time to join the band

But all too soon, we hit the moon, and covered up the sky
They built their bombs, and aimed their guns, and still I don’t know why
The dominoes tumbled and big business roared
Every night at six, they showed the pictures and counted up the score

I know it’s true, oh so true
‘Cause I saw it on TV

The old man rocks among his dreams, a prisoner of the porch
“The light” he says
“At the end of the tunnel was nothin’, but a burglar’s torch”
And them that was caught in the cover are all rich and free
But they chained my mind to an endless tomb
When they took my only son from me

I know it’s true, oh so true
‘Cause I saw it on TV
I know it’s true, oh so true
‘Cause I saw it on TV

“You shouldn’t like music that was made before you were born”

I thought I would do something different today. I was reminded of this by the phrase, “it was before my time.” Movies and music fall into this category. I do know people who will not watch movies made “before their time.” I don’t think many of my readers would agree to this statement, but who knows?

I had a co-worker in the early 2000s (Sam) tell me that I shouldn’t like music that was before my time because it was unnatural (yes, he said that). I was first kinda of amused and shocked. I like Sam a lot, and we would talk a lot; he is a smart fellow. However, on this point, I didn’t understand. Why? Is there some unwritten law that I can’t like 1950s or 1960s music up to 1967, when I was born? That cut off some of the best music of the 20th century and beyond.

He grew up in the 80s, as I did, and was probably around 5 or so years younger than me. I’ve seen other people act the same way. If it were before they were born, then they would not give it a second listen. If a movie is black and white, they act as if they are near a radiation leak!

I think the subject centered around how I loved 50s and 60s music and The Beatles, The Who, The Stones, and The Kinks. He said I should be listening to music from my teenage years (well, I WAS…60s music was my soundtrack growing up), but I DID listen to the top 40 when I was a teenager, which, to me, didn’t live up to those bands to any degree or form. Maybe it wasn’t fair to compare Men Without Hats to those 1960s bands. It was hard to stomach some of the ’80s for me, but not all. Now I’m busy catching up on music I missed that wasn’t on Top 40 radio at the time. I did find an oasis in the 80s, alternative music like The Replacements and REM…and the classic bands.

I still want to find other music and movies I like. Why would age have any effect on the music, whether we like it or not? That doesn’t mean I don’t like new music. I have posted newer bands here before who have just released albums. If it’s good, it doesn’t matter what era it came from, at least not to me. Christian, Graham, and Lisa all posted some newer songs that I liked. With movies, yes, I find some I like. I just saw Weapons and loved it, plus there are others.

I’m not putting people down at all who think like that. Hey, if that is what they believe, more power to them. I never believed in criticizing people for their opinions, music, or otherwise. Whatever blows their hair back.

Anyway, what do you think?

…

Tubes – Talk To Ya Later

I first found out about the Tubes through MTV in the mid-80s. The song was She’s A Beauty and MTV loved that video. It was in their rotation for a long long time. Just like radio, they could wear out a song as well.

It’s hard to describe this band. Prog, art, theatrical, rock, pop, and everything in between. In 1981, The Tubes were tightening their sound, paring back the theatrical music, and letting producer David Foster make the music sound more commercially viable. The album was Completion Backward Principle, and it was their fifth album. This is when their popularity started to rise.

The Tubes formed in 1973 and were a band with a cult following and a reputation for the most elaborate live shows around. But they weren’t exactly making any money with expenses. When Capitol Records wanted to talk to them, the band saw a chance to remake themselves. What they didn’t expect was the full corporate makeover that awaited them, complete with producer David Foster, determined to rebuild The Tubes.

The concept album The Completion Backward Principle actually began as a joke. Capitol’s marketing department gave the band an old corporate sales-training pamphlet. The Tubes built an entire album around it. Slogans, uniforms, everything boiled down to the idea that rock and roll could pretend to be a corporate product and still be good. It was satire, but it was also radio-friendly.

The album produced the band’s biggest hit to date, Don’t Want to Wait Anymore, and gave them a new touring identity built around that corporate feel. The band reinvented itself by streamlining its songs.

Toto’s Steve Lukather lent a hand on this song by playing guitar and bass. That guy was everywhere in the 1980s, playing on practically every hit you heard. Yes, I exaggerated, but not by much (over 1500 different records). Their keyboard player is known to Grateful Dead fans. Vince Welnick played with The Tubes from 1973 to 1989 and then joined the Dead in 1990.

The album peaked at #36 on the Billboard album charts, #26 in Canada, and #4 in New Zealand in 1981. This song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts.

Talk To You Later

As I mentioned near the close of the last recordThis record you are now playingIs another example of the completion backward principleIf you can possibly manage the timePlease play both sides at one meeting

I met her on the stripIt was another lost weekendThe band was too slickAnd the people were twisted

So I asked her for a dateShe reluctantly agreedThen we went to my placeAnd she never did leave

She won’t even miss me when she’s goneBut that’s OK with me, I’ll cry later on

It’s been six monthsShe hasn’t shut up onceI’ve tried to explainShe’s driving me insane

She won’t even miss me when she’s goneBut that’s OK with me, I’ll cry later on

Talk to ya laterDon’t wanna hear it again tonightI’ll talk to ya laterJust save it for another guyOh, talk to ya laterDon’t wanna hear it again tonightI’ll just see you around

Get outI’m telling you nowDo you catch my drift?What could be plainer than this?

Nothing more to be saidWrite me a letter insteadI don’t mean to be cruelBut I’m finished with you

She won’t even miss me when she’s goneBut that’s OK with me, I’ll cry later on

I’ll talk to ya laterDon’t wanna hear it again tonightI’ll talk to ya laterJust save it for another guyI’ll talk to ya laterDon’t wanna hear it again tonightI’ll just see you around

I’ll talk to ya laterDon’t wanna hear it again tonightI’ll talk to ya laterJust save it, save it for another guy

…

BoDeans – When the Love Is Goob (I Mean Good)

I like this band and most of the songs I’ve heard from them. They had a few hits, but for the most part, they were huge on college radio and unfortunately didn’t hit the masses like they should have. This song is fantastic, and the title is brilliant to me. Many musicians have come from Wisconsin. There is Steve Miller, Al Jarreau, Steve Miller, Les Paul, Violent Femmes, Liberace, The BoDeans, and many more.

In 1977, Sophomores Sam Llanas and Kurt Neumann met in a study hall at Waukesha South High School in Wisconsin and bonded over a shared love of music. The two later end up playing music together. In 1980, at Neumann’s urging, Llanas dropped out of college to pursue music full-time. The group pursues gigs at small bars, clubs, dances, and events. Llanas comes up with the name, Da BoDeans. Llanas and Neumann added drummer Guy Hoffman (Oil Tasters, Confidentials, later the Violent Femmes) and bass player Bob Griffin (The Agents) to fill out their sound in 1983.

By the time the BoDeans released the album Home in 1989, they had already carved out their niche as Midwest roots artists, but this album pushed them further into pop-rock territory without losing their rootsy identity. The title is a great play on words, but the song plays it straight. Jangly electric guitars wrapped around acoustic strumming, a steady backbeat, and those harmonies between Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas.

Jim Scott produced the album. They met him in 1987, producing Robbie Robertson’s self-titled solo album. The BoDeans added some backup vocals to it, including the songs Somewhere Down the Crazy River and Showdown at Big Sky. If you are exploring Home, this track is a rewarding stop, a small reminder that even when love gets messy, misspelled, or just plain “goob,” it can still turn out pretty good.

The album peaked at #94 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1989.

Neumann: The second record, you have all of this critical acclaim but the record company wants to get you on the radio, which is a whole ‘nother ballgame, and Jerry Harrison was from our hometown of Milwaukee. We worked with Jim Scott [on the third album], another really fun record.

Neumann: “There’s an installation about Midwestern rock bands and we’re one of those bands that are in the installation. As a band, music artist, whatever, it’s flattering that you’d ever get anything in the Hall of Fame. You go there and you look at Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones and all this stuff, and you’re like, ‘Wow, somebody heard my music and put a guitar of mine and some lyrics up as well?’ That’s quite a big compliment.”

When the Love Is Goob (I Mean Good)

Well, I work for the money but it takes my pride
It takes everything that I got down inside
Takes half a life just to break even
And it takes half my money just to have my fun
And I get so tired of love on the phone
I’m standin’ here when I should be at home
And the longest nights when I’m far away
You listen, pretty baby, to the words I say
“Hey lady, yes I can do anything, wanna be your man
Hey lady, yes I could do anything when the love is good.”
No tears will fall from this angel’s eyes
We’ll hold promises where the love never dies
Old memories, well, I ain’t got none
‘cuz soft, sweet angel, now, you’re the one
Well, I guess I’ll go find my way, get down on my knees and pray
All this talk ’bout love someday, when, baby, I’m just givin’ it away
Now, no tears gonna fall, no one’s gonna cry
We’ll hole up in heaven, let the world go by
Longest nights when I’m far away
You listen, pretty baby, to the words I say

…

Rank and File – Amanda Ruth

I first heard this song by the Everly Brothers in their comeback in the 1980s. It fit their style perfectly. I had assumed they wrote it, but I recently found out that Chip and Tony Kinman wrote it for their band, Rank and File. Two Brothers who started a punk band and then moved to Austin, where they transitioned to country-punk. Another performer who was a member of this band at one time was Alejandro Escovedo.

Rank and File were one of those bands that always felt born a decade too early. When most early 1980s acts were into synths, drum machines, and big production, the Kinman brothers were rewiring country music with punk and some power pop.

Chip and Tony Kinman first made music in the late 1970s with The Dils, a sharp-edged California punk band known for political lyrics, ragged guitars, and a take-no-prisoners attitude. When The Dils ran their course, the Kinmans stepped back and started exploring American roots music. They headed toward warmer tones and harmony.

In 1981, the brothers moved from California to Austin, Texas, a shift that changed everything. Austin was the hub of outlaw country, rockabilly revival, blues bars, and indie experimentation. The perfect place for musicians who did not fit neatly into one box. They found guitarist Alejandro Escovedo, fresh out of The Nuns, another West Coast punk band. The three of them shared a love for classic country songwriting like Hank Williams, The Burrito Brothers, and the raw honesty of punk.

The band officially formed as Rank and File, a name that reflected their working-class roots and their desire to keep things grounded. They blended Telecaster twang, tight harmonies, and a pinch of punk to keep them honest.

What I love about this song is how free it feels. Listening to it today, you can hear the origins of what would become Uncle Tupelo, The Jayhawks, Old 97s, and the whole alt-country wave that swept in during the 90s. Rank and File never got the widespread attention they deserved, but Amanda Ruth remains a cool little gem.

This song was on their debut album Sundown, released in 1982.

Tony Kinman – “We’re brave, we’re not afraid to do stuff, most people are. They’re deathly afraid to do anything different. … [W]hen everybody else was talking about how stupid country music was, country music was the last thing to like, if you wore a cowboy hat you were a redneck, you know, we decided go say, ‘Yeah, we play country music, it’s fun.’

“Up in San Francisco, KUSF Wave, their magazine, did the first review Rank and File ever got, live review. They said we sucked, and then they said, ‘What are these guys trying to do, start a trend?’ Well, that’s the way it worked out, but only because we were brave enough and smart enough to do it first. That’s how you get to be influential—if you’re brave enough to do something different and you’re smart enough to do it right. Otherwise you’re just another dumb-ass band.”

Amanda Ruth

Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth

We read the paper and we pick the show,
I’d meet her there but my watch was slow
She came early and I came late
We never met
It was a hell of a date

Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth

The way we met, she was a friend of a friend,
They needed money and I had it to lend
She had five; she wanted ten.
I gave her all my money
So I got none to spend

Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth

She burns her biscuits and her gravy is strange,
Can’t fry a chicken in a microwave range.
Her salt’s tasty, her sugar’s sweet
No she can’t cook
But she’s got something to eat

Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth
Amanda, Amanda Ruth

…

Paladins – Good Lovin

I posted a song by these guys a few years ago, and I ran across this song with Dave Gonzalez wailing away on guitar. His guitar solo in this one is jaw-dropping to me. He flips the Chuck Berry style on its ear and then does some nice chording through the end of the solo. I’m also a sucker for a standup bass. I’ve played 4, 6, and 8-string electric bass, but I’ve never played an upright bass. You can’t get that sound out of an electric bass.

I love trios because I’ve played in a couple. They are hard; there is no room to hide. All of these musicians are great in this band. I key in on Gonzalez and the bassist Tomas Yearsley, but here Scott Campbell, the drummer, more than holds his own with almost a drum solo through the entire song. With this band, you can hear Sun Records and Chess Studios.

Back in the late ‘80s, when hair metal was MTV and polished pop dominated the radio, The Paladins were out there playing for the roots crowd. They were deep in the same rockabilly, blues, and roadhouse rock and roll that had been playing three decades earlier. This song was off their 1988 album Years Since Yesterday. They were mentioned in the same breath as The Blasters, Los Lobos, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, bands who stubbornly stuck by roots music, forgetting trends.

The Paladins are from San Diego and were into rockabilly. They billed their music as Western Bop. They played a combination of rockabilly and vintage country together with a blues groove. They were founded in 1980 by guitarist Dave Gonzalez and bass player Thomas Yearsley.

Dave Gonzalez’s initial influences came from his mother, who listened to Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and the Rolling Stones. He mixed this with his father’s love of country singers Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, who also made a strong impression on him. As he got older, he got into blues artists like B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Johnny Winter.

Dave Gonzalez and bass player Thomas Yearsley, along with current drummer Brian Fahey, are still a top attraction at clubs at the present time. They have recorded five singles, nine full-length studio records, and three live albums.

A side note for blues fans…they released a live album with Hollywood Fats in 1985. Here is a LINK to that album on YouTube…it’s great!

Good Lovin

Well I’m dining at the station standing on the railroad tracks
Yes I’m dining at the station standing on the railroad tracks
Well I just got the news my baby is coming back
She is a sweet fine thing she looks so good to me
She is a sweet fine thing she looks so good to me
She’s a high stepping momma saving all her love for me

Yea she is cute when she walks she wobble all over the street
My baby is cute when she walks she wobbles all over the street
Yea I’ll be so glad when that train bring her back to me
Soon the train will be here tonight around a quarter til three
That’s when my woman brings her love to me
Hugs and kisses make my head spin around
Make my love come tumbling down

I’ll be glad in morning when the train is coming down the tracks
I’m so pleased my baby is coming back

Well I’m dining at the station standing on the railroad tracks
Yes I’m dining at the station standing on the railroad tracks
Well I just got the news my baby is coming back
Good Lovin, Good Lovin, Good Lovin, Good Lovin, Good Lovin, Good Lovin
Good Lovin,Good Lovin,Good Lovin

…

Fabulous Thunderbirds – T-Bird Rhythm …album review

This album is like a bag of chips; you can’t stop at one song. Hence, the reason I dropped the one song and just went on to the complete album. These guys deserve some attention for more than their two hits.

When I heard these guys in the 1980s, I loved what I was hearing. Tuff Enough hit, but the one that got me was Wrap It Up. Now I’ve gone back and started to listen to some of their other music, and it’s just what I expected. It’s tough, tight, and with a blues edge. What surprised me (it shouldn’t really) was who the producer was on this album. Nick Lowe strikes again in the middle of this tough R&B band. He really shows his versatility with this album.

Instead of trying to reshape the Thunderbirds, Lowe just pointed the microphones in the right direction and let them go. The production is warm and lean, nothing fancy, just that gritty barroom sound. He kept that edge to the music that the Thunderbirds would give.

I was disappointed when I didn’t hear any more songs by them on the radio. I should have known that there would not be much more in the 1980s. Guitar-driven rock/blues just wasn’t in as much. This band didn’t just hit out of nowhere. They formed in 1974 with original members Jimmie Vaughan, Kim Wilson (singer), Keith Ferguson, and Mike Buck. Austin vocalist Lou Ann Barton also performed occasionally with the group during its early years.

I’ve heard the phrase it’s The Groove That Won’t Quit before…Well, I will apply that to this album. Tracks like My Babe and Diddy Wah Diddy sound like they came out of a 1956 jukebox, but there’s nothing nostalgic about it. They gave life to R&B music in their own style and as contemporary as you could be in an era that wasn’t screaming for it. Every single note on this album feels road-tested.

One of my favorites off the album is How Do You Spell Love. It’s built like a tank and comes straight at you. Another favorite is Can’t Tear It Up Enuff, Jimmie Vaughan’s Telecaster stings and swings, and Kim Wilson tears through the vocal. This is the album that put them on the map. A few years later, they would be headlining tours and having hits.

This album was released in 1982 and rock critics were paying attention. The grouchy Robert Christgau wrote: “both sides open with fetchingly offhand ravers, Kim Wilson works his shoo-fly drawl for gumbo lilt, and the mysterious J. Miller contributes the irresistible ‘You’re Humbuggin’ Me’, which had me tearing through my Jimmy Reed records in a fruitless search for the original.”

Can’t Tear It Up Enuff

I’m in the mood to tear it up
I’m in my prime for tearing it up
I dig tearing up that stuff
I just can’t tear it up enuff

Don’t want no full time love
Baby let me be
I need a whole lotta part time love
To satisfy me
Don’t want no hand-me-downs
Got the biz rags on my back
I don’t need no used car
I got a brand new Cadillac

I’m dying to tear it up
I ain’t lying, I’m gonna tear it up
I dig tearing up that stuff
I just can’t tear it up enuff

I’ve got the finest weather
Living in this town
I’m sitting on top of the world
Nobody gonna get me down
I’ve got a diamond ring with
A gold bracelet to match
Baby, I got everything
With no strings attached
When it comes to having a party
I can’t be beat
Baby, just stay out of my kitchen
If you can’t stand the heat
You got to move, let’s go
I ain’t gonna wait for you
Got lots of places to go
And a whole lotta things to do

I’m in the mood to tear it up
I’m in my prime for tearing it up
I dig tearing up that stuff
I just can’t tear it up enuff

…

English Beat – Save It For Later

I always heard of this band but didn’t know much about them in real time. When I heard this recently, I was caught unaware of how good it was. It’s a pop gem out of the 1980s, which you don’t hear me say a lot.

Dave Wakeling, the band’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, wrote this song when he was still a teenager, and that teen confusion seeps through every line. It’s a song about growing up, about wanting to hold on to innocence while the world says no, you are going to grow up.

By 1982, The English Beat (also known as The Beat at home) had established a presence in the British ska and new wave scenes. But this song, from their third and final album Special Beat Service, was something else entirely, a melodic farewell that bridged ska and pop. This one was more reflective, a coming-of-age song packaged in jangly guitars and on-target harmonies.

Behind the scenes, the song nearly didn’t make it. Wakeling and guitarist Andy Cox had trouble convincing their bandmates that this softer, more melodic song fit the band’s style. But they pushed it through, and it became one of the band’s most remembered tracks. After Special Beat Service, The Beat split up, with Wakeling and Ranking Roger forming General Public and Cox and bassist David Steele launching Fine Young Cannibals.

Pete Townshend loved it so much that he recorded his own version, and it’s shown up in films like Clueless and Kingpin, giving it a second life with new generations. The song peaked at #47 in the UK and #6 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under 100 Singles Charts in 1982. It was written by Wakeling but credited to the entire band…Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele, and Dave Wakeling.

Here is Dave Wakeling talking about Pete Townsend calling him up asking about the special tuning to the song. Love his humor in this.

Save It For Later

Two dozen other dirty loversMust be a sucker for itCry, cry, but I don’t need my motherJust hold my hand while I come to a decision on it

Sooner or laterYour legs give way, you hit the groundSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me downSooner or laterYou hit the deck, you’ll get found outSave it for laterDon’t run away and let me down, you let me down

Black air and seven seas and rotten throughBut what can you do?I don’t know how I’m meant to act with all you lotSometimes I don’t tryI just na, na, na, na, na, naNa, na, na, na, nowNa, na, na, na, na, naNa, na, na, na, now (now, now, now, now)

Two dozen other stupid reasonsWhy we should suffer for this?Don’t bother trying to explain themJust hold my hand while I come to a decision on it

Da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, da, da, da, daDa, da, da, run away, run

Run away, run awayRun away, run awayRun away, run awayRun away and let me down

…

Blasters – This Is It

It’s been a while since I posted a Blasters song (although I’ve posted performances by them), so I thought we would revisit them today on this fine Sunday. When I listen to the Blasters, I feel that I’m hearing every American sound that mattered. Rockabilly, R&B, gospel, blues, and the ghost of early rock ’n’ roll. This song is from their self-titled album, released in 1981.

I missed the Blasters when they were real-time, but I’m happy to be catching up with them now. They didn’t follow trends; instead, they stuck with what they knew best. 1950s energy reimagined through the early 1980s, without the trap of big production and high-gloss synths.

The Blasters album was the one that put them on the map. It caught the ear of critics, landed them an opening spot for Queen and The Cars, and even made them heroes of the early L.A. punk scene. But they didn’t fit neatly anywhere; they were too raw for pop radio, too traditional for punk, and too loud for nostalgia. They were their own being.

The Blasters never had mainstream success…but mainstream radio back in the ’80s would have been greatly improved by these guys. They were a rock and roll band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin (vocals and guitar) and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman.

You can hear the ghosts of Gene Vincent and Little Richard shouting approval. It’s pretty simple, just the sound of American rock ’n’ roll refusing to die. If you’re new to The Blasters, start here with this album because… This is it.

This Is It

This is it, now, baby
The moon, it sure looks fine
I can tell your future by looking
At the highway sign

It’s something we’ll never know
Unless we get up and go
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, this is it
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, now, baby
It’s something we can share
Don’t worry about the rules
Tonight i just don’t care

Our world’s just a little too grey
Tonight’s right for our getaway
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, now, baby
It ain’t no hanging crime
But when the sun comes up
Maybe you’ll change your mind

If you want to go home say when
But you’ll never come with me again
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

This is it, this is it
This is it, now, baby
We’re gonna have a time tonight

…