"DOCTOR! DOCTOR!" THOMPSON TWINS (1984)

For the month of November, I’ll be selecting songs in conjunction with the music Twitter challenge: #WelcomeToTheOccupation.

During the mid eighties, Thompson Twins seemed hell bent on one thing: getting us to dance. They did it fast-tempo, mid-tempo and slow. Their musical cocktails mixed catchy melodies, synth jams, three-part harmonies, drum machines and assorted percussion instruments to create the impulse to move. And that ability to do it with a variety of tempos might be the Thompson Twins’ sharpest skill. Everyone remembers the catchy, yet slightly campy “Doctor! Doctor!”.

Those far eastern-influenced synth riffs are etched into my brain, giving me the ability to instantly recall them after not hearing them for decades. “Doctor! Doctor!” is an eighties anthem that hasn’t exactly aged well into the current decade. Nonetheless, it’s a nostalgic look back at what pop outfits were able to do with an infectious melody when they combined the use of synthesizers and analog instruments.

“Dance with me across the sea.”

"LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME" THOMPSON TWINS (1985)

As an eighties kid, synth pop has been pumping in my blood ever since that first day I turned on my MTV. There’s some debate as to who’s considered a synth pop band and who isn’t. For this September Music Twitter challenge – #SynthPopSeptember – I’m focusing more on what’s considered synth pop, not who. The songs I’m featuring on Mental Jukebox this month aren’t solely composed of synthesizers. There may be drums, bass, and dare I say, electric guitars. But each of these songs were picked because the synthesizer is core to its being.

The Thompson Twins were more than just a solid synth pop band. They wrote melodies with the best of them. And when it came to a distinct sound, they knew how to make down-tempo songs danceable. They knew how to make us move – no matter what the song was about, no matter how slow the song went. There are fast-paced Thompson Twins classics like “Lies”, “In The Name Of Love” and “Love On Your Side”. But it’s the slower jams that I love most, including “Doctor! Doctor!”, “Hold Me Now” and “Lay Your Hands On Me”.

Probably my favorite track from the synth pop three-piece, “Lay Your Hands On Me” is just gorgeous in its minimalist structure. The combination of shimmery synth notes, Leeway’s drumming and the vocal harmonies elevate the simplicity to the sublime. It is their version of a power ballad – a nostalgic artifact of the era when it was all about the songs and melodies. The synthesizers were just the means.

“I couldn't think of what to say. Words just vanished in a haze.”

"IN THE NAME OF LOVE" THOMPSON TWINS (1982)

After spending an entire month looking back at the 80’s, I realized one thing. I need more. Luckily, a couple of fellow music fans on Twitter came up with the brilliant idea to highlight #30DaysOf80sMovieSongs during the month of April. I couldn’t resist at the opportunity to keep going, to keep listening, and to keep celebrating the decade that has meant more to me than any other from a musical standpoint. Each day I’m playing a different soundtrack favorite on the Mental Jukebox.

Movie: Ghostbusters

“Hold Me Now”. “Doctor! Doctor!”. “Lies”. “Lay Your Hands On Me”. “Love On Your Side”. “In The Name Of Love”. These are the songs of The Thompson Twins. The songs that made us move. Above all things, the trio knew how to do one thing exceptionally well: get us to dance. It didn’t matter where you were – club, party, car, bedroom, shower. Thompson Twins songs used every tool in their arsenal to this end, and they often did it with mid-tempo tracks, relying less on speed and more on substance.

I remember playing “In The Name Of Love ‘88” over and over again when I first got my Best of Thompson Twins Remix CD. Nearly obsessed with it, I peeled it apart like an onion. Every element on the track gives it a danceability. The church organ-esque chords. The vocal echoes. The squirmy synth sequences. The John Lydon-like exclamations. It was a proven party track that instantly elevated the Ghostbusters soundtrack and gave it added dimension beyond the Ray Parker Jr. classic.

“Well it's fun to think that I'm having the time of my life. And it's true if all this around us is paradise.”