"THE EDGE OF FOREVER" THE DREAM ACADEMY (1985)

March 15, 2022

It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs

In the States, The Dream Academy was a band that made a brief, but significant splash with their unique interpretation of early dream pop. You could tell which songs were Dream Academy songs by their ethereal and accessible brand of synth pop. “Life In A Northern Town” transported us to a time and place that seemed surreal. “The Salvation Army band played. And the children drunk lemonade. And the morning lasted all day.” Their cover of The Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” was a lighter, more buoyant version of the somber original. And then there was their minor hit: “The Edge Of Forever”.

The song may not have received an ounce of publicity if it weren’t for an unforgettable scene toward the end of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. While Ferris Bueller may have immortalized the track, there are a few things about “The Edge Of Forever” that marks it as a true relic of that generation on its own merits. Like “Life In A Northern Town”, the production helped the song to paint a picture. Co-produced by David Gilmour, this one was steeped in euphoric romanticism. It borrowed signature 80’s elements like a sax solo and synth-based instrumentation, but it did so in a way that wasn’t contrived or too familiar. Here, The Dream Academy created a dream state that you could easily get lost in.

“There's a million hearts beating in a row.”

"NEW RELIGION" DURAN DURAN (1982)

March 14, 2022

During my childhood, Duran Duran was one of my beloved bands. MTV helped bring these infectious songs to life with videos that felt like mini movies. And I remember on a family trip, my parents were walking inside the magnificent Leaning Tower of Pisa. But not me. I was in a tour bus with my brother listening to Duran Duran’s Rio on my walkman. The songs gripped me. Simon Le Bon was one of the great lead vocalists of that era. And every band member had legit skills – from Nick Rhodes’ dreamy synth scapes to John Taylor’s funk-driven bass lines. These guys weren’t just a bunch of pretty boys. Everyone knows “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Rio”, but the entire Rio album had several classics, including “The Chauffeur”, “Save a Prayer” and a lesser celebrated track called “New Religion”.

The second you play the song, you’ve entered another dimension. Rhodes kicks things off with a sense of mystique and mystery. Something interesting is about to happen on my walkman. Then Andy Taylor and John Taylor lead us through a spiraling labyrinth. It’s like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, except my ass is still firmly planted on the tour bus coach seat. I can see the tower out the window, but in my mind a music video is playing: scenes of the band scrambling and climbing over each other to get to the top of the tower where liberation is waiting. I found it, too, inside that stuffy tour bus.

“I've something to see, I can't help myself. It's a new religion.”

"EVERYTHING COUNTS (LIVE AT ROSE BOWL)" DEPECHE MODE (1988)

March 13, 2022

Some bands have a way of becoming our life soundtracks. We don’t just love the way the songs sound, we love the way they make us think. The way they make us feel. They way they make us move. For my high school years, Depeche Mode – among other bands – was that soundtrack. I was a bit of a late bloomer. I started with the record and documentary release of Depeche Mode 101 – and then went backwards from there, discovering Music For The Masses, Black Celebration and Some Great Reward. But 101 was the game-changer. I never heard a synth pop outfit hold its own as an arena rocker. Depeche Mode rocked Pasadena and the whole nation – and the album closer just completely sealed the deal for me as a fan: “Everything Counts”.

Listening to the song on its original album release – Construction. Time Again – it’s evident that the band struck gold in a couple of key spots, but they were still forming their identity. As one of the standouts on the album, “Everything Counts” showcased the iconic persona of Depeche Mode: hook-laden, danceable, infectious, and, often at times, dark. Written by Martin Gore, the song went on the offensive, calling out corporate greed with a somewhat satircal approach. The bass synth part is utterly sinister, lurking with precision from beginning to end. Wilder’s synth hook – sometimes played on a xylophone – sounds like a music toy possessed by an evil spirit, which is flanked by quirky instruments that go beyond DM’s typical keyboard decks, including a melodica. Then there’s Gahan. With his signature bass vocals, Gahan is the narrator and antithesis of Gordon Gekko.

“The grabbing hands, grab all they can.”

"POP LIFE" PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (1985)

March 12, 2022

I think one of the more fascinating song themes is the topic of dealing with fame. Various artists have dealt with it in their own ways. Keane’s “Everybody’s Changing”. Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”. Rush’s “Limelight”. And, of course, David Bowie’s “Fame”. These are songs written from experience and come from the heart. They’re not sugar-coated by any means. Maybe that’s why I find this particular song topic so fascinating. In 1985, Prince released his own take, which appeared on the Around The World In One Day album. The song is called “Pop Life”, a track that was recorded even before Purple Rain was finished. It happens to be one of my all-time favorite songs from the artist.

“Pop Life” was a bit of a departure for Prince. Prior to Around The World In A Day, he had made quite a name for himself with the melodies he wrote and the instrumental arrangements he crafted. But “Pop Life” wasn’t really known for either of those things. The song relied on its tell-all persona and its simple groove created by a few sparse, but well-placed elements. That opening synthesizer. The slap and pop bass. Wendy and Lisa’s nearly despondent backup vocals. And a couple of unforgettable samples, including one with a restless crowd where someone yells “Throw the bum out!”. “Pop Life” threw the curtain open and showed us Prince’s view into a world he was immersed in and surrounded by. An absolute treasure.

“Is the mailman jerking you 'round? Did he put your million dollar check in someone else's box?”

"GOUGE AWAY" PIXIES (1989)

March 11, 2022

Ahh, Doolittle. One of the greatest albums of all time. I’ve probably played it hundreds of times and never get bored. There may be no greater collection of two-minute bangers than this precursor to grunge. The Pixies were great not because they thrashed, wailed and screamed, although they did all those things. They were great because they would change tempos and the sonic demeanor of a song on a whim. They were the masters of quiet-loud-quiet dynamics, which made the thrashing, wailing and screaming that much more irresistable. “Gouge Away” is a case in point.

It really is hard to pick just one song from Doolittle, but “Gouge Away” gets the nod on today’s Mental Jukebox post because it was the album closer. It’s what made Doolittle finish on a high note. Everything on the track is extremely tactile. You can feel the pick on Joey Santiago’s guitar strums and hear the intonation crystal clear on Kim Deal’s bass lines. And, of course, there’s Black Francis – going from a small flicker of a flame to a bona fide three-alarm fire.

“Stay all day, if you want to.”

"BLACK COFFEE IN BED" SQUEEZE (1982)

March 10, 2022

For most of my life as a music fan, I really only cared about the final output and the individual elements that make a song amazing, like a perfectly executed backing vocal part or a simple, yet impactful bass line. But more recently I’ve become more curious about the songwriting process. The way lyrics and music come together is unique for each band, which makes the process that much more intriguing to think about. Sometimes the process is quite surgical: one bandmate writes a riff or melody and then hands it off to another bandmate who writes lyrics. Sometimes, it’s the other way around where the lyricist gets the words down first and then the one in charge of the melody takes it from there. There are also situations where members share the songwriting load. The Beatles might be most famous for this, where Lennon and McCartney co-wrote many of the songs, while also individually contributing songs along with Harrison and Starr. One of the more fascinating songwriting duos is Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, a partnership that I’ll examine further through one of the band’s early 80’s singles “Black Coffee In Bed”.

This is a post-breakup song inspired by a coffee stain on a notebook. Difford, as usual, started with the original song theme and lyrics. From there, Tilbrook took the words and modified them a bit to fit into a melody that was dancing in his head. While Difford originally envisioned “Black Coffee In Bed” having a country feel, Tilbrook had other ideas. The musical arrangement is where Squeeze took it to the next level. There’s nothing exceptionally noteworthy in terms of the instrumentation itself, but “Black Coffee In Bed” breaks out some stellar harmonies by two guest vocalists with distinct voices of their own: Elvis Costello and Paul Young. The result is a cool, Motown vibe and a songwriting gem that became a mainstay on MTV in the early 80s.

“The stain on my notebook remains all that's left of the memory of late nights and coffee in bed.”

"GOD PART II" U2 (1988)

March 9, 2022

One of the phenomenons in music that i haven’t written about much on Mental Jukebox is recorded music as dialogue. There are plenty of examples of bands referencing other bands throughout history, from The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Californication” which mentions Kurt Cobain and David Bowie to Wilco’s “Heavy Metal Drummer” which references KISS. Rarely though are songs composed as responses to other songs and as a way to spark dialogue. This is the beauty of Track 14 off a somewhat mediocre album, Rattle and Hum. It’s a U2 song that doesn’t come with much fanfare: “God Part II”.

The song is written as a response to John Lennon’s “God”. And it’s not just a response, it’s a rebuttal. Bono accomplishes this without even mentioning God. He simply substitutes the word with “love”. I love Bono’s gift of expressing his beliefs without preaching. The verses spend more time explaining what he doesn’t believe in, but the weight of that line “I, I believe in love” is significant. “God Part II” is also a track where all four members shine. There’s nothing flashy about Clayton’s bass line, but in its simplicity it’s the most memorable aspect of the instrumentation – even as The Edge thrashes through more than one noteworthy riff. Larry Mullen Jr. shines on the track with a steady, visceral attack on the drum set. And by jumping octaves in the third verse, Bono pushes the song over the edge. Along with “All I Want Is You”, it’s one of the few standouts on an otherwise humdrum album.

“Don't believe in excess. Success is to give. Don't believe in riches. But you should see where I live. I, I believe in love.”

"LORELEI" COCTEAU TWINS (1984)

March 8, 2022

The world of Cocteau Twins is one of mesmerizing euphoria. A world where Elizabeth Fraser’s vocals soar like stardust, while Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde create these dreamy soundscapes for you to get lost in. These musical expressions would later become some of the early inspiration for shoegaze bands in the decade to follow. Cocteau Twins were way ahead of their time. And yet, their music is still fresh even today. The resilience of albums like Treasure, Blue Bell Knoll and Heaven or Las Vegas cannot be contested. Just listen to “Lorelei” and you’ll know why.

Cocteau Twins have always been more about the mood than the message. Often times, Fraser’s vocals are nearly indecipherable. I couldn’t tell you what “Lorelei” is about – or really what any other Cocteau Twins song is about, for that matter. But I can tell you what it feels like. Imagine being taken up in a cloud and brought into a kingdom of clouds where the sun shines like gold and angels float by you in slow-motion. A band is playing without a stage – just a musical trio in sync and fully buoyant in the bright, bright atmosphere. In other words, “Lorelei” feels a bit like heaven.

“We’re covered by the sacred fire. When you come to me, you come to broke.”

"THE MOTION OF LOVE" GENE LOVES JEZEBEL (1987)

March 7, 2022

There are more than a handful of songs that are truly representative of the 80s. These tracks sound like the 80’s. They celebrate the 80’s. And they remind us of the decade so many of us love maybe just a little too much. A-ha’s “Take On Me". Huey Lewis & The News’ “The Power of Love”. Dires Straits’ “Money For Nothing”. The list goes on. There are many obvious contenders. And the little known new wave gem “The Motion of Love” by Gene Loves Jezebel might be right up there.

Those who tuned in to Long Island’s WDRE in the late 80’s will remember the song. Every time I heard it, I had to turn it up. In the chorus, the whole band joins in. The melody was crafted to invite the listener to sing along, too. The instrumentation is textbook 80’s new wave with pulsing guitar riffs and shimmery synth hooks. The most distinctive aspect of the song are the yelps that accompany the lead vocals throughout the song. There’s nothing quite like it in pop music, but somehow they sound the way the 80’s should sound. Music aside, Gene Loves Jezebel also had the look to match – like poster boys with one foot in the glam rock world and the other in a new wave universe.

“Pretty angel You've got a rhythm that's blue.”

"STILL OF THE NIGHT" WHITESNAKE (1987)

March 6, 2022

In high. school, a friend lent me his Whitesnake cassette. Glam metal generally isn’t my cup of tea, but let’s just say, when Poison, Def Leppard or Whitesnake was playing on the radio, I didn’t necessarily switch the dial. Still, that Whitesnake album exceeded my expectations. So much so that I bought my own cassette and a t-shirt to match. Everyone from that era probably remembers “Here I Go Again” and the power ballad “Is This Love?”. But the song to know is an epic banger called “Still of the Night”.

If you’re going to listen to one Whitesnake song in your lifetime, make sure it’s this one. The tendency with glam metal songs is to assume a certain simplicity of the output, that the songs are all running at one single speed: hard and fast. But “Still of the Night” has three distinct movements. The hard & fast formula still applies. But there’s a great epic mid-tempo section outro starting at the 3:55 mark. And the magnus opus within a magnus opus starts at the 2:10 mark where the song downshifts into a mesmerizing performance led by John Syke’s electric guitar played with a violin bow. Coverdale wrote an exceptional song, and proved he’s far more than just a stereotypical glam metal frontman. Hands down, “Still of the Night” breaks stereotypes and is one of the greatest hard rockers of the 80’s.

“In the shadow of night I see the full moon rise telling me what's in store.”

"A NIGHT LIKE THIS" THE CURE (1985)

March 5, 2022

In my opinion, this is where the golden age of The Cure began. A string of early albums (Seventeen Seconds, Faith, Pornography) had exceptional moments. But The Head on the Door is where it all came together. The sound was full, now featuring a quintet: Robert Smith who wrote all the songs, Lol Tolhurst on keys, Porl Thompson as a multi-instrumentalist, Simon Gallup laying down the bass lines and Boris Williams on drums. The album is tight from start to finish – and one of the standouts appears midway through Side B: “A Night Like This”.

Probably one of my all-time favorite Cure jams, “A Night Like This” is a prime example of the band’s expertise in musical layering, where each instrumentalist finds his own unique territory and no one is stepping into another’s territory. Yet, the power of The Cure is that the songs are so incredibly cohesive. The layers all come together. In this Head On the Door classic, Tolhurst’s iconic chords on the keys fade in first and luring us in. Smith and Porl spin these gorgeous, intricate webs on their guitars. These riffs are the bedrock of the song, not the rhythm section, which becomes the most prominent aspect of the track. Gallup’s bass lines are perhaps the most memorable aspect of the song, and Williams matches Gallup’s heavy imprint on the drum set. On the studio version, session contributor Ron Howe blasts out a sax solo for the ages. One of the most epic concerts I’ve ever been to was The Cure at MSG in 2016 – “A Night Like This” sounded as sharp and relevant as it was 30 years prior.

“Say goodbye on a night like this if it's the last thing we ever do.”

"THE MORNING FOG" KATE BUSH (1985)

March 4, 2022

In stark contrast to the U.K., the U.S. has always been slower to adopt alternative and progressive forms of music on any real mass scale. Alternative has been just that – the alternative. And progressive forms have been even more niche. It’s why Kate Bush is such an underrated talent here in the States, even though she was quite famous in the U.K. Critics have suggested that Bush would’ve been more successful had she made her appearance ten years later during the Lilith Fair years – among the very artists she inspired. And maybe that’s the greatest compliment we can give Kate Bush. That she was so far ahead of her time, paving the way, even if we didn’t understand the road she was creating until we looked back at it many years later. That’s the feeling I get when I hear the Hounds of Love album and its closing track, “The Morning Fog”.

“Cloudbusting” and “Running Up That Hill” are two of my other favorite tracks from the same album. But, even in the States, these songs got some due respect on college rock stations. But in this country, “The Morning Fog” flew completely under the radar. One of Bush’s more melodic tracks, the song contained pop expressions that manifested in un-pop instrumentation like classical guitar and a Slovakian flute known as the fujara. There’s a beauty and a sophistication to the way Bush strings together different sounds. But instruments aside, it’s the way that she sings that makes her so unique and distinct. She sings like an actress on a stage who’s capable of expressing a wide range of emotions.

“I am falling like a stone, like a storm. Being born again into the sweet morning fog.”

"USED CARS" BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (1982)

March 3, 2022

Boy was I late to the Nebraska party. I’ve never been a huge Springsteen fan even though Born in the U.S.A. was my first album purchase ever. I didn’t like it much. Too much Heartland when I was all about Brit pop at the time. A couple of decades later I finally discovered an album that preceded it. Nebraska is raw heartland rock. Free of the bells and whistles that production-heavy albums often get mired in. It was all about the songs on this one. “Atlantic City” is one of my favorite recordings of all time. But not far behind it is the first track on Side B, “Used Cars”.

No E Street band. No session instrumentalists. No backing vocals. Just the Boss. On “Used Cars”, Bruce sings, plays guitar and creates these gorgeous moments on the harmonica. Like a classic used car, the track is no frills and unassuming. Without the immediate intrigue and weight that some of the other Nebraska tracks carry (“Atlantic City”, “Johnny 99”, “Highway Patrolman”), “Used Cars” relied on maybe the most important attribute of a song: powerful storytelling.

“Now mister, the day my number comes in I ain't ever gonna ride in no used car again.”

"GET UP" R.E.M. (1988)

March 2, 2022

Green isn’t the prototypical R.E.M. album. Coming off of Document, one of my all-time favorite records from the band, Green felt a bit disjointed and uncharacteristic. But some of my favorite R.E.M. songs hail from this album. “Orange Crush”, “Turn You Inside-Out” and “You Are the Everything”. The album also included the band’s first big mainstream hit in the States with “Stand”. Green showed that R.E.M. was still evolving, still experimenting, but still staying true to who they are as a band. “Get Up” is an undisputed case in point.

The song sorta sounds like an R.E.M. song, but it also sorta doesn’t. It plays that pivotal role of being Track 2, where its continued momentum coming off Track 1 is mission critical. “Get Up” begins like it’s missing a few opening bars and is already midway through an intro. That unique character continues with the song composition, where verses sound like choruses and the chorus sounds like a verse. The song’s title is sung out loud incessantly in rounds. The dreamlike state mid-slumber is brought to life by what sounds like wind chimes. This was a song Michael Stipe wrote about bandmate Mike Mills, who was sleeping in and having trouble arriving at work on time during the album’s recording. Mills didn’t even know it was about him until nearly ten years later. Can’t help but wonder how many R.E.M. fans thought it was a song about themselves.

“Dreams, they complicate my life.”

"LAND OF CONFUSION" GENESIS (1986)

March 1, 2022

I featured my first Genesis song on Mental Jukebox last month: “Follow You Follow Me”. And now I’m back at it almost immediately. There’s something truly sensorial about many 80’s songs. Unlike music from decades prior, we didn’t just hear them, we saw them. MTV and VH-1 transformed the musical landscape with unforgettable images, and enabled a generation to push past the predictable pop stuff and venture out a bit. When we hear songs like “Money For Nothing”, “Simply Irresistible” and “Take On Me”, we immediately recall the images that brought the music to life. Another such example hails from the powerhouse Genesis album Invisible Touch. A banger of a song called “Land of Confusion”.

A lot has been said of the song’s video that uses puppets as caricatures of world leaders and of the band members themselves. The video won a Grammy, but, in my opinion, this accolade undercuts what a great song “Land of Confusion” is in and of itself. It’s a sign of the times. It’s less of a political statement - and more of a cry for humanity. Written by Mike Rutherford, the lyrics were gold, lamenting the disillusionment of the Reagan/Gorbachev era. But the best part of the song was the instrumentation. It starts with that iconic muscular guitar riff by Rutherford, features equally muscular drumming by Collins, and finishes off with Banks’ arpeggios on the keys that are truly emblematic of the times. “Land of Confusion” is a perfect song to kick things off with this month on Mental Jukebox.

“There's too many men, too many people making too many problems.”

"LET'S STAY TOGETHER" AL GREEN (1972)

February 28, 2022

The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs

Many of the greatest movies of all time often have great music attached to them. But great music from the opening credits to the end credits, well, that’s a rare commodity. Pulp Fiction carries the noteworthy distinction of being one of the great films as well as one of the great soundtracks of all time. You can’t pick just one song, every single one of them is exceptional. “Let’s Stay Together” is probably one of four marquee tracks on the album, along with “Jungle Boogie”, “Son of a Preacher Man” and “Bustin Surfboards”.

What makes the Al Green song so special? I think it’s this. There are few songs in the history of music that capture the essence of their era so well while also demonstrating a timeless staying power. “Let’s Stay Together” is one of them. It is unapologetically 70’s to the bone. Like a time capsule of the era. But this classic has also aged beautifully. Pulp Fiction proved it. The horn section beckons us in the intro, but from there it’s all Al. It’s a gift to the world. Without exaggeration, one of music’s greatest vocal performances with Green’s natural vocal range and falsetto maneuvers so naturally entwined.

“Whatever you want to do is alright with me.”

"FOLLOW YOU FOLLOW ME" GENESIS (1978)

February 27, 2022

The departure of Peter Gabriel from Genesis was a significant turning point in the band’s history. Both Gabriel and the continuing members have even wrote about the split in their music. “Solsbury Hill” is a reflection on Gabriel’s bittersweet departure the band, and the name of the Genesis album following his exit is …And Then There Were Three…. While the original Genesis lineup was a huge prog rock force to be reckoned with, I love Peter Gabriel’s solo work and the new era of Genesis much more. I understand the intent was to really push the progressive limits of the music, but, in my opinion, the original lineup took it too far. I can name at least 30 Peter Gabriel solo songs and at least 20 new-era Genesis tracks that I like much more than “Carpet Crawlers”. By narrowing down to three members, I think Genesis’ sound was simplified for the better, starting with the classic anthem and musical turning point “Follow You Follow Me”.

For me, the big change on the album was the flow of the music. It felt much more natural, less forced. An actual verse-chorus structure developed by Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. And get this, the song was based in reality. It was a song of romance, not of mythic creatures and fairy tales. The realness of “Follow You Follow Me” was refreshing and relatable. Prog rock purists may scoff at it. But, at the same time, it wasn’t like the song was void of all progressive tendencies. The instrumentation, in particular, still held on to a musicality that pushed boundaries especially with Tony Banks on keys.

“I will stay with you will you stay with me. Just one single tear in each passing year there will be.”

"ROCK AND ROLL" THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (1970)

February 26, 2022

Producer Brian Eno famously said this: “The Velvet Underground didn’t sell many records, but everyone who bought one went out and started a band.” The quote speaks to the pure love of the music that the band had. Lou Reed himself once said this about music: “If I hadn't heard rock and roll on the radio, I would have had no idea there was life on this planet. Which would have been devastating - to think that everything, everywhere was like it was where I come from. That would have been profoundly discouraging. Movies didn't do it for me. TV didn't do it for me. It was the radio that did it." It’s the sentiment behind “Rock and Roll”. That song was about him.

“Rock and Roll” is Lou Reed wearing his rabid love for music on his sleeve. A passion I’ve always identified with – that undying obsession to music. No other creative expression or pursuit compares. This was the b-side to “Sweet Jane”, which is a spectacular song in itself. But I think those two songs could’ve easily swapped sides with each other without anyone blinking an eye. “Rock and Roll” was on that level. It had this unexpected chord progression to it which was driving the song from the start, while Reed’s howling falsetto turned in one of the band’s finest vocal moments. It’s one of my all-time favorite Velvet Underground songs.

“There was nothin' goin' down at all, not at all. Then one fine morning, she puts on a New York station. You know, she don't believe what she heard at all. She started shaking to that fine, fine music. You know, her life was saved by rock and roll.”

"BOOGIE SHOES" KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND (1975)

February 25, 2022

Few soundtracks defined the decade better than Saturday Night Fever. It’s like a musical encyclopedia of the 70s. Every single track is a cultural icon, from the heavy dose of the Bee Gees (“Stayin’ Alive”, “More Than A Woman” and “Night Fever”) to Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You” to The Trammps’ “Disco Inferno” to Walter Murhpy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven”. More than halfway through, the album gets interesting with a song that’s not just pure disco: “Boogie Shoes”.

KC & The Sunshine Band released the song three years before the soundtrack. But back then, it was just a b-side. Saturday Night Fever really helped put “Boogie Shoes” on the map. Trumpets and saxophones adorn this fun, two-minute song. Those horn arrangements are legendary. “Boogie Shoes” has a little disco heart. and a lot of funk mixed in there as well. What makes the song less expected, however, is that these other genres make these sneaky entrances through the back door of the song, including elements of doo-wop and rockabilly. There’s simply nothing else like it.

“I want to put on my my my my my boogie shoes.”

"THE KNACK" SQUEEZE (1979)

February 24, 2022

Squeeze is generally hailed as an underrated rock band. An outfit that deserves more attention that it has received from critics and fans. The songwriting partnership of Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook has netted a catalog that’s big on melody, often on the cheery side of things. While “Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)” and “Tempted” are classics in my book, the band is generally not my cup of tea. But there’s one lesser-known track off of Cool For Cats that is very un-Squeeze-like, and maybe my favorite track of theirs: “The Knack”.

The melody on “The Knack” is less neat and defined unlike most Squeeze songs. It’s hard to even decipher which notes are being sung. I think it’s why I like it so much. “The Knack” is less on the nose. It’s also less cheery, almost sinister, lying comfortably on the darker side of new wave. The most iconic elements of the song are the skittish keyboard hook and the rhythm section that features a punchy bass line that gets out in space. Cool For Cats is often remembered for the title track and “Up the Junction”, but halfway through the album one can find a song that defies expectations.

“Waffle in a Guinness. Tied between the bars. Fifty fifty chances. Bulletproof all cars.”