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Play Atomic [links to last.fm]
My wife often jokes that if it wasn’t for her, Debbie Harris would be my girl. It isn’t true, but Blondie are one of the only group’s that I follow that has a female in the lead role of the band. Atomic as a single was released in 1980, and enjoyed top spot in the British charts and proved to be Blondie’s best selling single in the UK, selling over one million copies. The song contains few lyrics, but the monumental guitar riff lives up to the nuclear-titled track name.
The video of this song is pretty nauseating to watch, as the various hi-tech video effects of the early 80’s are in heavy use from the get-go. Crazy color effects, the occasional flash-back to an atomic bomb exploding, all-too-brief scenes shot from crazy angles, and more early 80’s horror-fashion in the form of Debbie Harris dressed in a bin bag. (see yesterday’s Dexys Midnight Runners / Come on Eileen post for more fashion failures)
Watch the video to Atomic here (links to YouTube.com)
In 1982, Come on Eileen was the UK’s biggest selling single, spending much of August and the beginning of September number one in the charts. Who was Eileen? The lyrics were written by band-member Kevin Rowland, Jim Patterson and Billy Adams, and was about a girl Rowland used to date. The band was formed in England, but their 1982 album “Too-Rye-Ay” contained a heavy influence of Irish folk music. Come on Eileen clearly demonstrates this, with the opening fiddle leading into a marching melody.
The “toora loora” sung many times throughout is an Irish phrase for ‘good-bye’, and is repeated in many Irish drinking songs and lullabies.
But not us, no not us we are far too young and clever.
Remember Toora Loora Toora Loo-Rye-Aye
Eileen I’ll hum this tune forever.
This is a track that I would usually pass on, which is why I’ve rated it below average, but on occasion, if I want to recall how bad 80’s music really was, I will listen to it and smile. The 80’s really were the worst decade when it comes to good music. Or do you disagree with me?
The Beach Boys take on Alaska tonight, bring out the boards. Photo from http://www.surfalaska.net
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Last weekend, my wife and I rented the Rug Doctor, to steam clean the carpeting in our house. Read her review here. Admittedly, I do a fair amount of housework, dishes, laundry, bed-making, whatever, but I do not do it in the style of Queen. Not now, not ever. Please, stop watching this video after the one minute mark… it is for your own good! (please!)
The video represents Queen dressing up in drag, paroding a popular soap-opera at the time. It then leaps into a ballet sequence that I can only describe as a Really. Bad. Nightmare. Funningly enough, this single ruined Queen’s successes in America – the American public failing to see the soap-opera connection, and interpreting the video as something else. Well, who can blame them?
Image from guardian.co.uk
September is fast approaching, which can only mean apple season in Upstate New York is just around the corner. Apple picking, Apple music, The Beatles, George Harrison, Apple Scruffs! This is a fun, poptastic record, released on Harrison’s hugely popular album, All Things Must Pass. With his limited writing privelages on Beatle’s records, Harrison had built up quite an impressive set of songs by the time The Beatles dispanded in 1967. This track was released three years later in 1970 – but what are Apple Scruffs?
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A Track a day... 