Author Topic: MTV in the 80s Song of the Day (Read 305331 times)

KevShmev · « **Reply #140 on:** March 24, 2012, 12:17:31 AM »

I always thought Send Her My Love from Frontiers was really nice as well. Neal Schon really nailed those sweet guitar outros in their hits during those days.

jingle.boy · « **Reply #141 on:** March 24, 2012, 07:31:58 AM »

*insert digression here*

You want sweet Neal Schon guitar? Have you heard of Hardline's 1991 album Double Eclipse? He produced and played lead there. That was a SWEET guitar-led melodic album. In The Hands of Time has what I firmly believe is his best solo ever.

https://grooveshark.com/album/Double+Eclipse/3433281

Quote from: BlobVanDam on March 23, 2012, 11:26:48 PM

Quote from: DTVT on March 23, 2012, 02:16:21 PM
This might be the biggest discrepencey between the awesomeness of the song and the badness of the video ever. Yet I can't not watch.

This is actually my favourite Journey song. It's got that great heavy DUN DUN DUNDUN chug to it, plus that intro keyboard riff (I love sawtooth synths), and a catchy as hell chorus.
The music video is so bad that it's almost good, but not quite. It's still awful. On the plus side, I did figure out a few of the keyboard arrangements from watching the air keyboarding!

I really love the "waahhh-ee-ee wahh" squeal in the background of that heavy part.

King Postwhore · « **Reply #142 on:** March 24, 2012, 07:33:39 AM »

Always loved this Neil. some of you 80's folks will remember this band getting together for one album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-QdcrubBBY

KevShmev · « **Reply #143 on:** March 24, 2012, 10:13:25 AM »

Heart - These Dreams

I love the fact that Nancy Wilson sang this song with a cold, which, if you listen carefully, you can tell on certain lines, the most obvious being the first time she sings, "every second of the night," during the first chorus. It adds a lot of character to the song, especially since pop like that can often be so slick and perfect and mistake-free, especially nowadays. Anyway, very good song, and kind of a cool video as well, with the Wilson girls with their hair in full 80s form!

King Postwhore · « **Reply #144 on:** March 24, 2012, 10:31:17 AM »

Saw them on that tour and I played the crap out of that album. I do like the new album to the 80's and early 90's. I never knew Nancy had a cold. That's a cool tidbit Kev. It reminds me of One from U@ where Bono sang the lead at 3 am in the weeeee hours and he was tired and his voice was tired and the crack make that vocal genuine to me at least.

Jaq · « **Reply #145 on:** March 24, 2012, 02:40:05 PM »

Quote from: KevShmev on March 24, 2012, 10:13:25 AM

Heart - These Dreams

I love the fact that Nancy Wilson sang this song with a cold, which, if you listen carefully, you can tell on certain lines, the most obvious being the first time she sings, "every second of the night," during the first chorus. It adds a lot of character to the song, especially since pop like that can often be so slick and perfect and mistake-free, especially nowadays. Anyway, very good song, and kind of a cool video as well, with the Wilson girls with their hair in full 80s form!

Yeah, they'd autotune that right out of the song these days. That Heart album was a rare case of a band bringing in a ton of outside songwriting in an attempt to make hits and it WORKING. Usually the resulting album has no personality and it falls on its face. Haven't listened to that album in a long time, so I'm not sure how it holds up today (I have a feeling the production's going to be terribly dated) but it was a great album then.

And oh yes, HSAS. Some of Neal Schon's best solos ever, one of my favorite things Sammy Hagar ever sang on. My best friend still has the vinyl of that album.

Lowdz · « **Reply #146 on:** March 24, 2012, 02:46:23 PM »

For four albums there Heart were awesome (the S/T to Desire Walks On- everything else, no thanks). These Dreams is a great song and a pretty typical 80s video and suits the song. it is very dream-y. And it's got Nancy Wilson

.
Talented performers, certainly, but not great songwriters imo. Without the outside writers they are poor.

Ravenheart · « **Reply #147 on:** March 24, 2012, 02:48:14 PM »

I like that song a lot. It's probably the only Heart song I've heard, but it's a very enjoyable pop tune.

dbrooks22 · « **Reply #148 on:** March 24, 2012, 05:03:37 PM »

I actually love this song. Love it. I also love Alone, Never, and pretty much all 80's Heart. And I think i'm still in love with 80's Ann Wilson.

Alone still gives me chills. Go watch the video on youtube and see what i mean...

jingle.boy · « **Reply #149 on:** March 24, 2012, 07:51:18 PM »

Heart is amazing! The Wilson sisters put out some absolutely quality female led hard rock. I don't have too many of their complete albums, but all of their radio friendly stuff is badass.

KevShmev · « **Reply #150 on:** March 24, 2012, 11:17:36 PM »

Quote from: Lowdz on March 24, 2012, 02:46:23 PM

For four albums there Heart were awesome (the S/T to Desire Walks On- everything else, no thanks). These Dreams is a great song and a pretty typical 80s video and suits the song. it is very dream-y. And it's got Nancy Wilson .
Talented performers, certainly, but not great songwriters imo. Without the outside writers they are poor.

I take you've never heard Heart's music from the 70s, especially all of Dreamboat Annie, eh?

lonestar · « **Reply #151 on:** March 25, 2012, 12:45:31 AM »

I was cool with Heart, though I liked them when they were more hard rocking chicks. My brother worked as a bell hop at a hotel they stayed at for a show, and scored the drummer a bag of weed, scoring us backstage passes. Pretty good show, but never met the sisters.

KevShmev · « **Reply #152 on:** March 25, 2012, 08:28:11 AM »

The Kinks - Come Dancing

Undoubtedly one of my favorite songs and videos growing up in the 80s. As someone who loved listening to Casey Kasem's top 40 back then, I used to do my own top 20 every week (that is probably when I started love the idea of doing lists

), and I remember that Come Dancing was my number 1 for like six weeks, which might have been the record for me. But anyway, helluva fun tune (that brass section at the end is absolutely dynamite), and the video is comically cheeky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-38Kz07HR8&feature=related The two best moments:

1:30 - when the sister's date shakes his fist at the brother again when leaving for their date (my dad and I still often chuckle about and imitate this video moment, nearly 30 years later)
3:36 - when the sister's date shakes his head at Ray Davies hamming it up on stage

Fantastic song!

King Postwhore · « **Reply #153 on:** March 25, 2012, 08:31:45 AM »

I do like the song but was more of a fan of the next album with Do It Again. That also is a great story about your dad, you and music Kev!

lonestar · « **Reply #154 on:** March 25, 2012, 08:37:44 AM »

The Kinks are in my top five of all time bands. Been listening to them since I was a wee lad, and have seen them live over ten times. I can honestly say they are one of the top live shows I have ever seen, playing almost four hours once. Favorite album is One For The Road, and my favorite song is Celluloid Heroes or Catch me Now I'm Falling. Come Dancing, that's one song that at a live show, everyone dances to, no matter what. Such a great little ditty.

Lowdz · « **Reply #155 on:** March 25, 2012, 12:18:11 PM »

Quote from: KevShmev on March 24, 2012, 11:17:36 PM

Quote from: Lowdz on March 24, 2012, 02:46:23 PM
For four albums there Heart were awesome (the S/T to Desire Walks On- everything else, no thanks). These Dreams is a great song and a pretty typical 80s video and suits the song. it is very dream-y. And it's got Nancy Wilson .
Talented performers, certainly, but not great songwriters imo. Without the outside writers they are poor.

I take you've never heard Heart's music from the 70s, especially all of Dreamboat Annie, eh?

Oh I have, and I own some of it. Too Folk-y and Zep wannabe for me at the time. A couple of good songs here and ther but not heard it for decades though

Jaq · « **Reply #156 on:** March 25, 2012, 01:27:43 PM »

Come Dancing is such a catchy song, and I love the video-more than the song, actually.

Back to the Heart thing for a minute-their 70s music did, at times, come off as being wanna be Zeppelin, but they did it better than most. The problem was that by the early 80s, that sort of sound was already becoming dated. Heart pretty much had to move away from that because everyone else already had. Back then the last thing a hard rock band wanted to be called was dinosaur rock (funny that a sound could be considered prehistoric in a mere five years) and in the early 80s, Heart was just that. Like I said before, normally I dislike a band bringing in outside songwriters and cleaning up their sound, but Heart was a rare case where it was the best move.

Orbert · « **Reply #157 on:** March 25, 2012, 04:15:37 PM »

Early Heart was definitely influenced by Led Zeppelin; they've covered a number of Zeppelin songs, so it's pretty clear that they're an influence. Plus, just listen to Ann's singing; she's like a female Robert Plant. There's no question that a lot of her delivery comes from his style.

"These Dreams" was a revelation to me, in a couple of ways. First, I didn't realize that Nancy sang lead vocals on any of their songs. I always thought it was Ann. I even have half a dozen Heart albums, but unlike with many bands, I didn't really dig through the liner notes. The other thing is that this is the first time I thought Nancy was kinda hot. When Heart first hit the scene, a lot of people talked about the band with the two hot girl singers, but to be honest, I didn't really think much of them. If you're hot anyway, that's great, but in every picture I saw, they were striking poses and making "sexy" faces and shit, and it was a turn-off. With the advent of video, you got to see what artists really looked like (kinda), and, well I was impressed. I think Nancy has actually gotten hotter over time, while I think it's fair to say that time hasn't been as kind to Ann.

bosk1 · « **Reply #158 on:** March 26, 2012, 08:28:09 AM »

Quote from: Jaq on March 24, 2012, 02:40:05 PM

Quote from: KevShmev on March 24, 2012, 10:13:25 AM
Heart - These Dreams

I love the fact that Nancy Wilson sang this song with a cold, which, if you listen carefully, you can tell on certain lines, the most obvious being the first time she sings, "every second of the night," during the first chorus. It adds a lot of character to the song, especially since pop like that can often be so slick and perfect and mistake-free, especially nowadays. Anyway, very good song, and kind of a cool video as well, with the Wilson girls with their hair in full 80s form!

Yeah, they'd autotune that right out of the song these days. That Heart album was a rare case of a band bringing in a ton of outside songwriting in an attempt to make hits and it WORKING. Usually the resulting album has no personality and it falls on its face. Haven't listened to that album in a long time, so I'm not sure how it holds up today (I have a feeling the production's going to be terribly dated) but it was a great album then.

All this. And as pointed out above, there was a LOT of really good stuff going on on that album. Never was probably my favorite track.

KevShmev · « **Reply #159 on:** March 26, 2012, 08:47:25 AM »

Quote from: kingshmegland on March 25, 2012, 08:31:45 AM

I do like the song but was more of a fan of the next album with Do It Again. That also is a great story about your dad, you and music Kev!

Sir GuitarCozmo · « **Reply #160 on:** March 26, 2012, 08:57:38 AM »

These Dreams is excellent. I didn't realize until seeing them live a few years ago that it was Nancy singing it. I remember the bit about her having a cold, it does sound pretty obvious, but it definitely gives it a character that I feel it benefitted from.

Another thing about Heart that always occurs to me. People CONSTANTLY go on about how difficult a song "Alone" is to sing. While this is true, I'm just as impressed by the harmony vocals in the chorus. They are UP THERE.

KevShmev · « **Reply #161 on:** March 26, 2012, 09:23:46 AM »

Dang it, more chatter about Come Dancing, the current 80s song, please.

KevShmev · « **Reply #162 on:** March 26, 2012, 12:38:05 PM »

Well, screw it.

Moving forward...

Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms

Pretty good song, but the interesting thing about this band is that the rest of that album was actually really good! Broadcast was one of my favorite cassettes to listen to back then, and I liked every song. In fact, I think I mentioned earlier about the first albums or cassettes I listened to as whole back in the 80s, but I completely forgot about this one. It was one of the first back when I was 14. Anyway, (I Just) Died in Your Arms was by far the biggest hit they ever had, but the two other singles and videos from that album, I've Been in Love Before and One for the Mockingbird, both got regular airplay on MTV as well. But I had to feature the biggest hit here as their selection.

jingle.boy · « **Reply #163 on:** March 26, 2012, 12:52:41 PM »

I remember this song. Got a lot of plays on mixed tapes of mine. I think I bought the 45, but not the whole album. Good memories; good times.

King Postwhore · « **Reply #164 on:** March 26, 2012, 12:57:41 PM »

I absolutly LOVED this cd and played the crap out of it. Don't Look Back was my favorite song on the album.

Little knwn fact, the guitarist, Kevin MacMichael, played on most of Robert Plant's
Fate of Nations album. Passed away from cancer in 2002.

Orbert · « **Reply #165 on:** March 26, 2012, 01:14:03 PM »

Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms

I'm too anal when it comes to language. When a song starts with the line "I just died in your arms tonight..." my first thought is "Then how the fuck are you singing this song?" It was all over the radio and MTv, and I don't think I ever listened to the whole thing, probably never got past the first verse. It just depended on how fast I could change the station/channel.

jingle.boy · « **Reply #166 on:** March 26, 2012, 01:28:06 PM »

Quote from: Orbert on March 26, 2012, 01:14:03 PM

Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died in Your Arms

I'm too anal when it comes to language. When a song starts with the line "I just died in your arms tonight..." my first thought is "Then how the fuck are you singing this song?" It was all over the radio and MTv, and I don't think I ever listened to the whole thing, probably never got past the first verse. It just depended on how fast I could change the station/channel.

Orbert: DTF's literal lieutenant.

Jaq · « **Reply #167 on:** March 26, 2012, 03:12:29 PM »

Never really liked (I Just) Died In Your Arms, just wasn't my thing. It always felt like the last gasp of the sort of pop-rock song that MTV made huge in the early 80s to me. I rather did like I've Been In Love Before, though. Always was a sucker for 80s ballads.

KevShmev · « **Reply #168 on:** March 27, 2012, 08:19:50 AM »

Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight

Never was a big fan of this one, but every time it is mentioned, I think of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4GtOdJtgL8

Sir GuitarCozmo · « **Reply #169 on:** March 27, 2012, 08:28:51 AM »

Hahaha, I was going to mention the exact same scene. Nice.

I think it was a pretty decent song. Something that definitely has to be on every party playlist.

Orbert · « **Reply #170 on:** March 27, 2012, 11:28:25 AM »

I think it's a fantastic song, easily a favorite. The video drove me nuts, with the stuttering-shaking or whatever that effect is called where you alternate between two images. Usually you see it used with handwriting or hand-drawn images, and it looks stupid then. With film or video, it's even worse.

But the song itself totally rocks. It has a catchy beat, it actually uses the band's name in a fun way, and let's face it, Jack Hues has an amazing voice. When he goes for "On the edge of oblivion..." in the bridge, it's just insane.

Actually, Wang Chung overall is quite underrated. They'll be forever remembered for this fun party song, and not for their very cool, darker stuff, like the soundtrack from the movie "To Live and Die in L.A." and the song "Wait". Something about their sound inspired me to check out a few albums by Wang Chung, and I'm glad I did. "Points on the Curve", "Mosaic", and the soundtrack from "To Live and Die in L.A." are all very good albums.

Dream Team · « **Reply #171 on:** March 27, 2012, 11:38:40 AM »

Quote from: Orbert on March 25, 2012, 04:15:37 PM

Early Heart was definitely influenced by Led Zeppelin; they've covered a number of Zeppelin songs, so it's pretty clear that they're an influence. Plus, just listen to Ann's singing; she's like a female Robert Plant. There's no question that a lot of her delivery comes from his style.

"These Dreams" was a revelation to me, in a couple of ways. First, I didn't realize that Nancy sang lead vocals on any of their songs. I always thought it was Ann. I even have half a dozen Heart albums, but unlike with many bands, I didn't really dig through the liner notes. The other thing is that this is the first time I thought Nancy was kinda hot. When Heart first hit the scene, a lot of people talked about the band with the two hot girl singers, but to be honest, I didn't really think much of them. If you're hot anyway, that's great, but in every picture I saw, they were striking poses and making "sexy" faces and shit, and it was a turn-off. With the advent of video, you got to see what artists really looked like (kinda), and, well I was impressed. I think Nancy has actually gotten hotter over time, while I think it's fair to say that time hasn't been as kind to Ann.

I don't know if you've ever seen footage of Heart in the 70s . . . Ann was outrageously sexy without even trying that hard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkJj68xSI90
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXOO7QVHgXs&feature=related

I could post dozens. But anyway, Heart is touring this year and Ann's voice is still incredible at 61.

Orbert · « **Reply #172 on:** March 27, 2012, 11:59:08 AM »

I may have caught a performance on Midnight Special or something, but I don't remember. I really don't remember seeing video of them, only still photos, and as I said, somehow they just didn't seem "sexy" to me. Yeah, they were pretty. But pretty and sexy aren't the same thing to me.

But I was a mutant back then, probably still am. If a teenage boy looks at a picture of a pretty girl and doesn't immediately want to bang her, there's something wrong. Also, I was Asian (probably still am). If she cannot extract a square root using a slide rule, we are not a match.

KevShmev · « **Reply #173 on:** March 27, 2012, 10:00:44 PM »

Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer

An 80s classic in every sense of the word. Easily the most classic song Bon Jovi has ever done, and who woulda thought this song would age so well?

lonestar · « **Reply #174 on:** March 27, 2012, 10:05:47 PM »

Slam dunk great 80s song. Nuff said.

News: Video of online chat between fans and members of Dream Theater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx8cLlXnHpA&feature=youtu.be (*no chickens were harmed during the filming of this chat)

Author Topic: MTV in the 80s Song of the Day (Read 305331 times)