By the time 1982 came around, I had pretty much settled into married life and school. I had ditched the graveyard shift job and had gone to work as a bouncer for 12 year olds at the video arcade at the mall. The first manager I worked for there was a flaming queer and was very open about it. He and I got along fine because he knew what side of the fence I was on and that there was no chance I was going to open the gate to cross over to his side. Money was a little tight but I can't say that Lorraine and I wanted for anything. Lorraine worked at the same mall with usually the same schedule so we went to work together and went home together. We had a great 2 bedroom apartment with central air and heat, a washer and dryer in the apartment (I never want to go to a washateria again) and the rent was $215 per month and included utilities (cable, too!). My friend downstairs had worked for Cox Cable in N.O. before he went to college and he hooked up the whole building with the works so everything was gravy. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that he was also the program director for the college radio station so we would get advance promo's on new music and knew about stuff before everyone else did. Fridays usually consisted of sitting out in front of his apartment drinking margeritas on the rocks while listening to his absolutely killer stereo. He even had a CD player - I think he paid $500 for it with money from his student loan. MTV came out in '81 and you can start to see the influence
Top Songs
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean - This was the last year he was sane, I think
Prince and The Revolution - Little Red Corvette - He had it goin' on. He would follow this with Purple Rain
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing - I think he died right after this
Michael Jackson - Beat It
Prince and The Revolution - 1999
The Clash - Rock the Casbah - At the top of their game but the video is kind of cheesy
ABC - The Look of Love - Real style
Pretenders - Back on the Chain Gang - Great song, so-so video
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf - Underated band - just wait until we get to Power Station
The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go - This is the one everyone identifies The Clash with
Madness - Our House - great attitude and the video is hilarious
George Clinton - Atomic Dog
Modern English - I Melt with You - the iconic song of the 80's pop bands
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Willie Nelson - Always on My Mind - I think he had to pay royalties to record this seeing that he sold the rights for it back in the 50's for $50.
John Cougar Mellencamp - Jack & Diane - The record company originally billed him as John Cougar and he gradually worked his real name in and the fake one out
XTC - Senses Working Overtime - great melodic pop/rock band
ABC - Poison Arrow
Billy Idol - White Wedding - Who doesn't sing to this one
Duran Duran - Rio
Roxy Music - More Than This - another band with style but with a bit more edge
Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me with Science - He's still fighting with Dolby over his name
Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy - The hottest chick with a mohawk I've ever seen but what was with that shirt?
Simple Minds - Promised You a Miracle - The lead singer was married to Chrissie Hynde from the Pretenders for a while
Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio - I don't think this would've gotten any attention if it wasn't for MTV, Fun song
Madness - House of Fun
Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie - Turns out they were Milli- Vanilli'ing it
Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes - Up Where We Belong - Great song, great movie (An Officer and a Gentleman) and a great voice ( I wonder what happened to her?)
Men at Work - Down Under - I still have the album this was on. It's poppy, I know but you can't help what you like
The Clash - Straight to Hell
Joe Jackson - Steppin' Out - If only you didn't have to look at him
Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey - a truly scary video, my thoughts at the time were that he should be committed
Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny - He faded away just like Greg Kihn did
Pretenders - My City Was Gone - Rush Limbaugh's theme music - they tried, unsuccessfuly, to keep him from using it
Dire Straits - Private Investigation - They would hit it huge with the next record
Billy Joel - Allentown - the last real song he would write until "I Didn't Start the Fire"
The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like - The lead singer died of a heroin overdose, I think - great song and video, though
Men at Work - Who Can It Be Now?
Top Albums
Michael Jackson - Thriller - Another essential - It's the last record he did that made any sense at all. I think the success of this record is what pushed him over the edge. He had gotten attention as part a bigger whole but when it was all directed at him, he wigged out
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska - Stripped down to point of almost being demo's, the songs on this record reflect the true character of an American Icon.
Prince and The Revolution - 1999 - Absolutely essential - Not a bad track
Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Imperial Bedroom - his turning point from rocker to singer/songwriter
Donald Fagen - The Nightfly - his first solo record, a concept album about technology and learning to love it - The most memorable track for me was "New Frontier"
ABC - The Lexicon of Love - The horn and string arrangements hark back to Sinatra and company
Roxy Music - Avalon - Angst with panache
Laurie Anderson - Big Science - A lot of people find her hard to listen to but I love her devil may care attitude
Duran Duran - Rio
Simple Minds - New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)
XTC - English Settlement - British Pop at it's best
Marshall Crenshaw - Marshall Crenshaw - It's too bad he didn't last past this. I really like his kind of laid back style
The Clash - Combat Rock - Their last record with the original lineup
Joe Jackson - Night and Day - Love the music, can't stand to look at him
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (IV)/Security - Again, kind of scary(check out the cover) but he's laying the rhythmic groundwork here for "So", one of my most favorite records ever
Kate Bush The Dreaming - I really love her voice and she didn't look too bad either
George Clinton - Computer Games - The Master of Funkocity
John Cougar Mellencamp - American Fool - I've come to respect him a lot more as time has gone on. His sound hasn't really changed since this record
Midnight Oil - 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 - I remember David Letterman saying he had never been so scared as when this band was on his show - The lead singer had to be about 6' 10" tall, bald headed and had the strangest mannerisms when he was performing
The Beat - Special Beat Service - another Ska influence
The Time - What Time Is It? - Just watch "Purple Rain"
Madness - The Rise and Fall - They were a big influence on the Ska bands of the '90's
Dire Straits - Love over Gold - just before "I want my MTV" came out
