1980s – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Style Council – Shout To The Top

I am a Paul Weller fan, and it’s nice to see what he did after he left The Jam in 1982. Some really good soul pop songs and excellent songwriting, as you would expect from Weller. I mostly know his Jam songs but I’m learning more about him.

Paul Weller and Mick Talbot built the song around a bright keyboard riff and a gospel-type groove that is more Curtis Mayfield than punk. It was a stand-alone single. It was later added to the 1984 album Our Favourite Shop CD release, and it became one of their biggest hits in the UK and a club favorite. It was on the US album Internationalists, a version of this album.

This song is a great example of a perfect blend of soul history and modern pop. It’s built for radios and dance floors…and anyone needing a push through their day. Instead of stacking layers of guitars, the band focused on the rhythm and let the groove carry everything.

The song peaked at #7 in the UK and #6 in New Zealand in 1984-85. The album peaked at #1 in the UK, #6 in New Zealand, #123 in the Billboard Album Charts, and #53 in Canada.

Should It To The Top

I was half in mind, I was half in needAnd as the rain came downI dropped to my knees and I prayedI said, “Oh heavenly thing, please cleanse my soulI’ve seen all on offer and I’m not impressed at all”

I was halfway home, I was half insaneAnd every shop window I looked in just looked the sameI said, “Now send me a sign to save my life‘Cause at this moment in time there is nothing certain inThese days of mine”

You see it’s a frightening thing when it dawns upon youThat I know as much as the day I was bornAnd though I wasn’t asked, I might as well stayAnd promise myself each and every day

That when you’re knocked on your back and your life’s a flopAnd when you’re down on the bottom there’s nothing elseBut to shout to the topWell we’re gonna shout to the topWe’re gonna shout to the topWe’re gonna shout to the topHey, we’re gonna shout to the top

You see it’s a frightening thing when it dawns upon youThat I know as much as the day I was bornAnd though I wasn’t asked, I might as well stayAnd promise myself each and every day

We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)

So when you’re knocked on your back and your life’s a flopAnd when you’re down on the bottom there’s nothing elseBut to shout to the top (shout)Well, we’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)

And when you’re knocked on your back and your life’s a flopAnd when you’re down on the bottom there’s nothing elseBut to shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)

Hey, yeah, shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)

We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)

We’re gonna shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)Shout to the top (shout)

Desert Rose Band – She Don’t Love Nobody

A few months ago, around September, I met Arthur when he was commenting on my blog. He is better known as purplegoatee2684b071ed. We have had some wonderful conversations, and I told him if you ever want to post a music post…I would be honored to do it. He took me up on my offer, and he wrote up a post about The Desert Rose Band. I do appreciate Arthur writing this up. Here is Arthur!

I am Purplesomething or other. My name is Art Schaak. I have no idea where WordPress got the name for me. When I found this incredible blog I signed up for WordPress and they told me my e-mail, which is fairly unique, was already assigned to this Purple guy. purplegoatee2684b071ed, that’s what they call me. For years I had a full beard, now I am clean shaven (when I shave) and I’ve never sported a goatee. I have been called an old goat, and old other things, and I honestly find it hard to deny.

I have been reading and commenting on this blog since September of 2025, a relative newcomer. I am much more impressed with the community and its individual members than you should be of me.

I am 72 years old. I have been a big music fan as long as I can remember. I skirted the peripheries of the music industry in the mid 70s until I realized I was not a follower of fashion, dedicated or not. I know a little about this stuff, am horribly opinionated, and have very eclectic tastes.

The Desert Rose Band was Chris Hillman, Herb Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Bill Bryson, Jay Dee Maness, and Steve Duncan. This song, written by John Hiatt, reached #3 on Billboard’s US Hot Country Songs and was awarded the 1989 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy. It wasn’t their biggest hit, but it is my favorite.

The magic lies in the music. Give it a listen. It is the energy. The harmonies are tight. The performance is together. It might be too perfect, considering some of the opinions offered elsewhere on this blog, but I can’t call that a problem. This tune just delightfully pops along.

Hiatt’s lyrics are a lot of fun. Yes, I am a fan and have been since his Hanging Around The Observatory debut on Epic way back in the 70’s. By the way, Hiatt did two songs on the second White Duck album on Uni that I was amazed I found at a 25-cent parking lot sale at Rhino Records; I played it once, and that was more than it deserved.

Jorgeson continues to play, but his recent performances in the Los Angeles area have been with his bluegrass ensemble and his hot jazz ensemble. A long way from the Desert Rose Band or his tenure with the Elton John band. He is a great guitar player with an even greater sense of the overall music he is producing, kind of like Ry Cooder, where one can groove on his expertise or just be amazed at the incredible music he is putting out.

By the way, the web says the last performance of the Desert Rose Band, Live at the Country Music Hall of Fame CMA Theater, October 2, 2022, is due to be released in March of 2026.

And Chris Hillman seems extremely active (considering his age and such), according to his website, chrishillman.com.

Like I said, give it a listen.

She Don’t Love Nobody

From my humble point of view
She don’t love nobody
Nothin’ borrowed, nothin’ blue
She don’t love nobody

Behind the green eyes I detect
She don’t love nobody
Her heart no kiss could resurrect
She don’t love nobody

All of her life
She’s been told to hang on tight
There’s a man who’d make her his wife
But she’s not interested in anything mama said

She throws passion to the wind
She don’t love nobody
She don’t give out but she don’t give in
She don’t love nobody

And if I could I’d make her mine
But she don’t love nobody
And she would never walk that line
She don’t love nobody

All of my life
I’ve been told to hang on tight
There’s a girl who’d be my wife
But I’m not interested in anything mama said

I want the girl who does not need
She don’t love nobody

She’s the one my heart receives
She don’t love nobody

She don’t love nobody
She don’t love nobody

Peter Case – I Shook His Hand

Each tongue is a world, each eye is an ocean
Of every child, woman, man here in living motion
Now who’ll protect us, who’ll pеrfect us
Who’ll live to see the day whеn love connects us

I just started to listen to Peter Case recently, although I like the Plimsouls, I never knew much about Case. This song and its history intrigued me. First of all, it’s a great song, but Case started this song by reminiscing about when he was a kid and shook hands with John Kennedy at a county fair that Kennedy had appeared at. So by total coincidence, this again fits into the book I’m reading. I had a playlist of his songs, and I heard this one, and I thought…what hand did he shake? I then read his quote about shaking hands with JFK.

He first broke out with The Nerves, a tight power pop band that was popular on the early LA power-pop scene. Though they never found major commercial success, they did have the song Hanging on the Telephone, later covered by Blondie. The Nerves showed Case’s gift for melodic songwriting and short three-minute power pop songs.

After that came The Plimsouls, who blended power pop with roots rock and harder edges. Tracks like A Million Miles Away made them cult favorites and briefly pushed them into the mainstream. The band toured constantly, but music industry pressure and burnout pulled them apart just as they were gaining traction.

This song is off of Peter’s self-titled debut album, released in 1986. The musicians he gathered, I’m a huge fan of. Roger McGuinn on his 12-string Rickenbacker, Jim Keltner on drums, Van Dyke Parks on keyboards, T-Bone Burnett producing, and acoustic guitar and more. He was on Geffen Records at the time and also released a UK EP called Steel Strings that contained many of these songs. He also released another EP called Selections from Peter Case. That one had two different versions of the song Steel Strings on it.

The album was largely recorded live in the room, with players reacting to each other instead of building tracks layer by layer. I say this a lot in my reviews, but it’s true in this case as well. The band played to each other, and there were minimal overdubs. He kept small imperfections that made the performances feel real. The goal wasn’t to overproduce the album; it was to capture the way these songs worked when he played them alone or in small rooms.

He has been productive as a solo artist. 14 studio albums, 4 EPs, 3 compilations, and 11 singles. A tribute album was also released in 2006, A Case for Case, with various artists.

Peter Case: I wrote this one in 1984, on the Amtrak train down to San Antonio, where I was meeting the rest of the Plimsouls to start a tour. It’s about meeting JFK on his trip to the Erie County Fair, when I was five, though I was also thinking about MLK and RFK.

I Shook His Hand

I was a kid out behind the fair
His words were like lightning in the summer air
His eyes were wild with the truth he told
Holding back the rain while the thunder rolled

I was too young to understand
I was proud to say I shook his hand

He took command on a winter’s day
All across the land, spring was on its way
He struck fear into the hearts of fools
Breaking up the gangs, breaking all their rules

Too young not to understand
I was proud to say I shook his hand

Each tongue is a world, each eye is an ocean
Of every child, woman, man here in living motion
Now who’ll protect us, who’ll pеrfect us
Who’ll live to see the day whеn love connects us
Who’ll take a step out in this land
I’ll be proud to say I shook his hand
I shook his hand, well I shook his hand

For years they tried to kill him, he finally died
I still remember how I felt when my mama cried
I grew up with a bullet in my breast
If you knew it or not, so did all the rest

Robert Cray – Smoking Gun

Robert Cray was a delight to hear in the 1980s. SRV, Robert Cray, Eric Clapton, and a few others received significant radio play in that decade. It was great hearing the guitar-dominant songs.

The song was recorded for Strong Persuader, the album that changed Robert Cray’s career. The sessions focused on sound clarity and guitar, not excess. Producers Bruce Bromberg and Dennis Walker kept the arrangements tight, making sure the rhythm section stayed locked in.

The song’s success was helped by radio and MTV, which was unusual for a blues artist at the time. The video, simple and story-driven, fit the song’s mood and helped it cross formats. That exposure turned this song into a breakout hit and pushed Strong Persuader into success. This song helped him get to a wider audience, and he didn’t lose who he was.

His guitar tone is remarkably clean and controlled in this song. Sometimes, it’s not what you put into a song, but what you leave out. Silent spaces let songs breathe, and I think that is a big part of this. The song peaked at #22 on the Billboard 100 in 1986. The album peaked at #13 on the Billboard Album Charts, #34 in Canada, #5 in New Zealand, and #34 in the UK.

Smoking Gun

I get a constant busy signal
When I call you on the phone
I get a strong, uneasy feeling
You’re not sitting there alone

I’m having nasty, nasty visions
And baby you’re in every one, yeah
And I’m so afraid I’m gonna find you with
A so-called smoking gun

Maybe you wanna end it
You’ve had your fill with my kind of fun
But you don’t know how to tell me
And you know that I’m not that dumb

I put two and one together
And you know that’s not an even sum
And I know just where to catch you with
That well-known smoking gun

I’m standing here, bewildered
I can’t remember just what I’ve done
I can hear the sirens whining
My eyes blinded by the sun

I know that I should be running
My heart’s beating just like a drum
Now they’ve knocked me down and taken it
That still-hot smoking gun

Yeah, yeah, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve taken it, the still-hot smoking gun
Oh, they’ve taken it, still-hot smoking gun
They’ve knocked me down
And taken it
Oh

INXS – What You Need

During the 1980s, I was watching/listening to MTV, and INXS was one of the top bands they played. They always had an energy about them and some good, solid rock songs, which I appreciated at the time and still do!

They formed in 1977 in Australia and first called themselves The Farriss Brothers (because of the brothers in the band…Andrew and Jon Farriss). They picked the name INXS in 1979, a name that looked like a logo and sounded like a radio station. They were young and already aiming past the local scene. They went on until 1997 when lead singer Michael Hutchence passed away. After that, they had some guest singers, but it just didn’t work.

In 1985, this single was released from the album Listen Like Thieves.

By the time they recorded this album, Listen Like Thieves , they’d already proven they could write catchy singles. They were looking for the perfect balance between rock and dance-floor music. This song lands right in that lane. It’s built on a tight riff and a rhythm you can’t miss. They made it lean, and they made it hit.

A big part of the story is producer Chris Thomas, the guy who’d worked with everyone from the Sex Pistols to Roxy Music to Pretenders. Thomas helped INXS refine the sound, ensuring the songs had space and punch without sacrificing their edge. It’s not too glossy; you can still hear the band playing like a band. The mix keeps the groove upfront where it belongs.

The song peaked at #5 on the Billboard 100, #21 in Canada, #14 in New Zealand, and #51 in the UK in 1985. Listen Like Thieves peaked at #11 on the Billboard Album Charts, #24 in Canada, #4 in New Zealand, and #48 in the UK.

Altogether, they had 12 studio albums, 4 live, and 71 singles!

What You Need

Hey,
here is the story
Forget about the trouble in life
Don’t you know,
it’s not easy
When you gotta walk upon that line

That’s why –
You need
That’s why –
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need

Don’t you
get sad and lonely
You need a change from
What you do all day
Ain’t no sense in
all your crying
Just pick it up
and throw it into shape

Ugh Yeah.
That’s why – That’s why
This is what you need
I’ll give you what you need
OH, oh,
YEAH, yeah
No, no, no
HEY
Hey you,
won’t you listen
This is not the end of it all
Don’t you see there
is a rhythm
I’ll take you where you
Really need to be
Ugh Yeah.

Give you what you need
Saxo

Rick X

….

Fine Young Cannibals – Johnny Come Home

It was around 1989 when I first heard these guys. It was around the time that She Drives Me Crazy was released. I had just broken up with my first proper girlfriend, so after wallowing in self-pity with Temptation tapes in my car…I listened to this band as well. They had been around since 1985, but I really noticed them 4 years later. Better late than never.

Fine Young Cannibals formed after The Beat split, with bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox teaming up with singer Roland Gift, who had been acting and singing. This song was one of the key early songs of what the new band was, less ska bounce, more tension, and sharper. The production has that clean guitar and a vocal that sits right on top. Gift’s voice is the signature, and the track is built to frame it.

The song, like most of their songs, has a great dynamic to it. You can feel it build and fall and rinse and repeat. In the mid-80s, when a lot of pop was glossy and loud, Fine Young Cannibals made something that was clean and sharp.

After their second and last album The Raw & the Cooked blew up, they were suddenly one of the biggest bands in the world, and that kind of pressure can crush a band. They were also a band that worked slowly and carefully; they weren’t the type to crank out an album every year. So basically, they split up at the height of their fame. You know what? I totally respect that, and they left on top.

They did release a few songs for benefit albums and released a song called Flame in 1992 for their greatest hits package. Roland Gift does do an occasional tour now under the name Roland Gift presents Fine Young Cannibals, but not the original band.

This song peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100, #16 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand, and #8 in the UK in 1985.

Johnny Come Home

Nobody knows the trouble you feel
Nobody cares, the feeling is real

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry

Use the phone, call your mom
She’s missing you badly, missing her son
Who do you know, where will you stay
Big city life is not what they say

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny, we’re sorry

You’d better go, everything’s closed
Can’t find a room, money’s all blown
Nowhere to sleep, out in the cold
Nothing to eat, nowhere to go

Johnny, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Johnny (Johnny), we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on home
Johnny, won’t you come on home

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

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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?

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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?

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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

…