I have to start by saying that I find Morrissey an absolutely reprehensible human being. That said, he has a way with words that occasionally taps into great sentiment. And the main hook of “How Soon Is Now?” (“I am human and I need to be loved…”) is one of the great lyrics in rock… Read More “How Soon Is Now?” by The Smiths (1984)
Stanley Clarke came to prominence as the bassist for jazz supergroup Return to Forever, but by the time “Heaven Sent You” came out in the summer of ’84, he’d already branched out beyond jazz into adult contemporary pop and soul. The album “Heaven Sent You” appeared on, Time Exposure, found Clarke dipping a toe into… Read More “Heaven Sent You” by Stanley Clarke (1984)
Poor Lindsey Buckingham. My man officially got sacked by his Fleetwood Mac bandmates just last year, and the parting does not appear to have been amicable. Sounds like the band took Lindsey’s own lyrics to heart; after all, he was the author and vocalist of “Go Your Own Way”, a song that is not only… Read More “Go Insane” by Lindsey Buckingham (1983)/”Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac (1976)
Bruce Springsteen was 34 when he recorded Born In The U.S.A., the album that contained “Glory Days”. I am nine years older (as of this writing) than Bruce was when he recorded “Glory Days”. Obviously the song isn’t autobiographical. I’m not sure whether or not Bruce was a baseball pitcher in high school, but he… Read More “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen (1984)
Prince’s demo version of “The Glamorous Life” (released on the Originals set earlier this year) is illuminating if only because it provided proof of what he brought to the table on this song, and what Sheila E. added. His soon-to-be protege shaded in what was already a monster track with her powerful percussion. The end result… Read More “The Glamorous Life” by Sheila E. (1984)
Steve Perry’s voice is amazing. Obviously, he’s best known for being the lead singer of a rock band (Journey, for those unaware). But he could’ve been a soul singer. He could’ve been a jazz singer. Guy could probably (still) sing opera. “Foolish Heart” might be the most middle-of-the-road song Perry had done up to that… Read More “Foolish Heart” by Steve Perry (1984)
“Don’t Look Any Further” is Dennis Edwards’ biggest solo hit. It went all the way to #2 on Billboard’s R&B charts. It didn’t cross over, because even in the age of Thriller, “Don’t Look Any Further” was way too black for top 40 radio. Thanks to a long life as a hip-hop sample (providing the… Read More “Don’t Look Any Further” by Dennis Edwards & Siedah Garrett (1984)
Here’s what separates “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” from “We Are The World” and the other, lesser, ‘80s charity singles. Thirty-four Christmases later, if “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” comes on in the grocery store/shopping mall/randomly comes up on shuffle, I get the warm fuzzies. I sing along. I only cringe during Bono’s ill-advised “tonight… Read More “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid (1984)
So much to say about “Darling Nikki”. And, in one of those cool weird coincidences, this song’s number comes up about 12 hours before I’m headed into Williamsburg to see Purple Rain on a big screen for the first time ever! I didn’t realize until recently that “Darling Nikki” and “Little Red Corvette” run along similar lyrical paths.… Read More “Darling Nikki” by Prince & The Revolution (1984)
As I type this, we’re about 3 days away from the beginning of actual summer in New York City, and we’re coming off the first weekend where it felt like summer. Kids were playing in the street, folks were headed off to the beach en masse, the air in NYC was thick with humidity and… Read More “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama (1984)
Five Star Jamz 