Welcome to Thirsty Thursdays: 20! We've been goin' at it for at least 20 weeks, so to commemorate the occasion, we're going to take you 20 years back, to the 80s! It was a glorious time, a time I don't remember, but one that Pipe and I were born in. But enough about us, here's some music!First up is a song by Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac. If you've ever seen National Lampoon's Vacation, or the European and Vegas sequels, you've heard the song. "Holiday Road" is a road trip song driven by its steady bass line and sing-a-long chorus.
Lindsey Buckingham- "Holiday Road" [Removed]
Thomas Dolby released the album "The Golden Age Of Wireless" in 1982, and revolutionized the synthpop genre. This quirky album was a huge hit, and is still his magnum opus, but Mr. Dolby has gone on to do much more than making records. He was known for being the CEO of Beatnik Inc, which developed polyphonic ringtones, and is creditted with the Nokia theme. But here's "She Blinded Me With Science", a truly great synthpop song.
Thomas Dolby- "She Blinded Me With Science" [Removed]
R.E.M. are alt-rock legends and one of Athens, Georgia's greatest bands. Without further adieu, here is "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" from "Document".
R.E.M.- "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" [Removed]
Van Halen is awesome. Well, they were awesome until David Lee Roth left, but "Jump" from 1984's appropriately titled album, "1984", showcases a good 80s vibe with happy lyrics, peaking synths, and Eddie Van Halen on guitar.
Van Halen- "Jump" [Removed]
Queen was around for a while before the 80s, but didn't start using synthesizers until 1980's "The Game". The song "Rock It (Prime Jive)" is a good example of Queen + synth, and is much better than Queen + Paul Rodgers.
Queen- "Rock It (Prime Jive)" [Removed]
I figured a good end to the 80s music post would be a Guns N' Roses song. They really do seem to bridge the decade gap pretty well. "Appetite For Destruction" really is a fantastic album. Here's the song that, back in middle school, was the sole reason I became interested in music other than hit radio. Thanks guys, but Axl, seriously, where's "Chinese Democracy"?
Guns N' Roses- "Welcome To The Jungle" [Removed]
Alright then, sorry for the late post. College proves to be busy, but we have much more on the way. Hope you enjoyed this short tour of the 80s. Enjoy.
Labels: guns n roses, lindsey buckingham, queen, rem, thomas dolby, van halen
Bit of info for you: prior to 1984, Van Halen toured with a band called After The Fire who had a very distinctive synth sound. After the tour, VH went back into the studio and created Jump using ATF's sound...!
After The Fire had previously toured with Queen and shared the same producer (Mack). Why do so few remember such a great band?!
Hm, very interesting. I had never actually heard of ATF before, but it seems as if they had a pretty short success period and only released one album in the US, which was a compilation. I'll have to look up some of their stuff though, because I love the synthy sound of "Jump".
I have an ATF seven-inch single on luminous orange vinyl called LASER LOVE - excellent record.
Believe they were closet Christians who kept this quiet in case it alienated their potential fanbase....
Ya, apparently one member of the band left to become an anglican cleric. At least, that's what wikipedia says.
Another one left and became a Buddhist!
After a bit of research, I've discovered that (a) a few of their tracks are available on iTunes (in the UK at least) and (b) the band appear to be active again - see www.afterthefire.co.uk
Active again! Haha that's awesome. In the UK? Or Internationally?
marcovivio - they had a big hit in the states with Falco's Der Kommisar