Author Topic: MTV in the 80s Song of the Day (Read 305385 times)

jjrock88 · « **Reply #175 on:** March 27, 2012, 10:32:44 PM »

Not really a bon jovi fan but this song, like most of the songs from SWW, are pretty good. Aoo Aoo Aoo Aoo Aoo Aoo

BlobVanDam · « **Reply #176 on:** March 27, 2012, 11:19:10 PM »

No matter how popular or old this song gets, I will always think it's great. It's just a really well constructed 80s pop rock song, with catchy melodies throughout.

Lowdz · « **Reply #177 on:** March 28, 2012, 06:15:01 AM »

LOAP- The song that launched a million perms- mine included

Seems like a long time ago. I was a Bon Jovi fan from the debut album until Faith- not been much to enjoy since then, though HAND was good.
Video was ok, nothing special or innovative but showed a band having fun, something they've certainly forgotten about in recent years. Funny, as JBJ got better as a songwriter, his songs got worse...

Zydar · « **Reply #178 on:** March 28, 2012, 06:18:20 AM »

A great song, no matter how overplayed it's gotten to be over the years. A catchy and uplifting chorus if there ever was one.

Sir GuitarCozmo · « **Reply #179 on:** March 28, 2012, 06:28:50 AM »

Fantasticness. I like what Lowdz said about the band having fun. It does seem to be a somewhat absent idea in music anymore. Also, the solo, while not at all demanding, is just excellent.

dbrooks22 · « **Reply #180 on:** March 28, 2012, 07:10:15 AM »

Great song.

This is great example of a track that would have been much less noteworthy without synthesizers. I'm not sure how synths got such a bad rap, but if used tastefully they turn so-so tracks into powerhouses like this one.

Orbert · « **Reply #181 on:** March 28, 2012, 08:31:59 AM »

Living' on a Prayer

I got my Bachelor's in education in the 80's, and the school district that hired me went on strike at the start of the school year, so I worked as a substitute teacher for $50 a day in the neighboring school districts for three weeks. One day I was assigned to a middle school English class, and on one wall of the classroom are posters of Bon Jovi, album covers, and stuff like that. I specifically remember the big Slippery When Wet poster. One wall was mostly windows, and the other two had the boards and other stuff you'd normally find in a school classroom, but the regular teacher in this room was obviously a big Bon Jovi fan, and the one wall looked more like a girl's bedroom wall than a classroom.

Then after a chatting with the students a bit, I realize that I know the teacher. She lived in my dorm, and was one of the "groupies" for a band we had going, just some of us in the dorm. We sucked, but hey, we played and girls came to check us out, so it was a good time. Connie was easily the hottest one, and now here I am subbing in her room.

I asked the kids what it was like having Miss ----- as a teacher. I swear to God, the first thing they mention is how they love it when she talks, because she stands in front of the windows, and the light coming in behind her turns her clothes transparent. What? Yeah, she wears sheer blouses and pretty dresses and stuff, and when she stands in front of the windows, you can see right through them. She doesn't usually wear a slip, either.

When you have a substitute teacher in school, there are the clueless ones, the ones who are Drill Sargents because at the very least they'll get through the day, and there are the "cool" ones who actually know what they're doing and seem alright. I always tried to be one of the "cool" ones, but this was a whole new level. These kids (mostly the boys, obviously) were obviously quite smitten with their English teacher, and had a very good reason to come to class every day, and they were fine telling me all about it. I remember Connie from the dorm, and this actually sounded just like her. Suddenly I wanted to be a student in her class, not the sub. I also wondered why I didn't have teachers like that in middle school.

So anyway, that's what I think of when I hear Livin' on a Prayer or anything else from Slippery When Wet. The song is alright.

jingle.boy · « **Reply #182 on:** March 28, 2012, 08:35:46 AM »

Quote from: KevShmev 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

Knew what that link was gonna be before I even clicked it. Agree whole-heartedly on what you said.

LOAP ... quintessential 80s. I think Slippery When Wet is the flagship of 80s glam rock. Top album for me - #27 to be precise.

bosk1 · « **Reply #183 on:** March 28, 2012, 08:41:25 AM »

Quote from: lonestar on March 27, 2012, 10:05:47 PM

Slam dunk great 80s song. Nuff said.

Sir GuitarCozmo · « **Reply #184 on:** March 28, 2012, 09:02:16 AM »

Quote from: Orbert on March 28, 2012, 08:31:59 AM

Living' on a Prayer

I got my Bachelor's in education in the 80's, and the school district that hired me went on strike at the start of the school year, so I worked as a substitute teacher for $50 a day in the neighboring school districts for three weeks. One day I was assigned to a middle school English class, and on one wall of the classroom are posters of Bon Jovi, album covers, and stuff like that. I specifically remember the big Slippery When Wet poster. One wall was mostly windows, and the other two had the boards and other stuff you'd normally find in a school classroom, but the regular teacher in this room was obviously a big Bon Jovi fan, and the one wall looked more like a girl's bedroom wall than a classroom.

Then after a chatting with the students a bit, I realize that I know the teacher. She lived in my dorm, and was one of the "groupies" for a band we had going, just some of us in the dorm. We sucked, but hey, we played and girls came to check us out, so it was a good time. Connie was easily the hottest one, and now here I am subbing in her room.

I asked the kids what it was like having Miss ----- as a teacher. I swear to God, the first thing they mention is how they love it when she talks, because she stands in front of the windows, and the light coming in behind her turns her clothes transparent. What? Yeah, she wears sheer blouses and pretty dresses and stuff, and when she stands in front of the windows, you can see right through them. She doesn't usually wear a slip, either.

When you have a substitute teacher in school, there are the clueless ones, the ones who are Drill Sargents because at the very least they'll get through the day, and there are the "cool" ones who actually know what they're doing and seem alright. I always tried to be one of the "cool" ones, but this was a whole new level. These kids (mostly the boys, obviously) were obviously quite smitten with their English teacher, and had a very good reason to come to class every day, and they were fine telling me all about it. I remember Connie from the dorm, and this actually sounded just like her. Suddenly I wanted to be a student in her class, not the sub. I also wondered why I didn't have teachers like that in middle school.

So anyway, that's what I think of when I hear Livin' on a Prayer or anything else from Slippery When Wet. The song is alright.

Dammit, I love when you have a story to tell. I always know it's going to be worth the read.

King Postwhore · « **Reply #185 on:** March 28, 2012, 05:35:16 PM »

Orbert you rule and this is by far a slam dunk like lonestar speaks of. Damn near perfect live.

Orbert · « **Reply #186 on:** March 28, 2012, 10:06:21 PM »

Yeah, I have a story for pretty much everything. That's what happens when you're old as hell; pretty much anything will remind you of something else, and it's cool if the something else involves chicks.

KevShmev · « **Reply #187 on:** March 29, 2012, 01:30:57 PM »

INXS - Need You Tonight/Mediate

Need You Tonight was probably my favorite hit of 1987 at the time, and I still dig it. Mediate was a cool extension of it, and the video, aping Bob Dylan, was neat. I can still sing most of Mediate by memory. I used to be able to do it all, but I forgot a few here and there nowadays.

jingle.boy · « **Reply #188 on:** March 29, 2012, 01:34:14 PM »

Isn't this the video of them air drumming, with sticks, while standing?

Nice track, always did like INXS. Had the cassette, but never re-obtained a digital copy. Been a LONG time since I heard anything from them.

KevShmev · « **Reply #189 on:** March 29, 2012, 01:40:24 PM »

Per the air drumming with sticks, the drummer does that at times, yes

Kick is great from start to finish. Every song is really good.

Orbert · « **Reply #190 on:** March 29, 2012, 02:04:09 PM »

Great song(s), much fun. Kick is my favorite INXS album. I like Listen Like Thieves as well. I have Shabooh Shoobah on (gasp!) vinyl, but it never really grabbed me. I mostly got it just for the song "The One Thing" which I like.

INXS wrote some catchy stuff. They had a great sense of rhythm and weren't afraid to bring the funk.

lonestar · « **Reply #191 on:** March 29, 2012, 03:26:42 PM »

Great band, one of those I regret not getting into at the time because of my metalhead snobbery.

wolfking · « **Reply #192 on:** March 29, 2012, 03:59:43 PM »

Quote from: jingle.boy on March 29, 2012, 01:34:14 PM

Isn't this the video of them air drumming, with sticks, while standing?

Nice track, always did like INXS. Had the cassette, but never re-obtained a digital copy. Been a LONG time since I heard anything from them.

The video is absolutely terrible.

I always hated INXS. I guess because they were so popular here in their home country they were played 24/7. All their songs are very similar IMO, and they recycle their musical ideas way too much.

The band are in disarray now. After Michael Hutchence died, they went through a couple of well known singers before doing the horrid tv show. I believed they should have just kept Jon Stevens from Noiseworks as he has a killer voice. From their, they did a pathetic album with JD fortune and he has been in and out of the band multiple times since then.

The band produced a cd with reworkings of their songs with different singers. It made me hate them even more, what they did to the songs, even though I was never a fan in the first place was disgusting. Haven't heard from them since. They should have just ended the band when Michael died.

Orbert · « **Reply #193 on:** March 29, 2012, 04:15:05 PM »

Quote from: wolfking on March 29, 2012, 03:59:43 PM

They should have just ended the band when Michael died.

That's the only part I agree with. Well, that and the part where the JD Fortune album sucked and the TV show was a joke, which kinduv tie into that. I wasn't even aware that they did anything before or since then.

A lot comes down to personal taste, but I don't really see how their songs are all similar or that they reused their ideas too much. On their albums, I think they show a bit of range, actually.

King Postwhore · « **Reply #194 on:** March 29, 2012, 04:26:12 PM »

Likes ti song. Always love the rockin' side more of INXS. Don't Change is a good example but boy were they on a run in the 80's through part of the 90's

TAC · « **Reply #195 on:** March 29, 2012, 07:40:04 PM »

Saw Bon Jovi's SWW tour a couple of times. Although some seeds (Van Halen/Motley Crue) were sown, it was was really Bon Jovi that led to the mid/late 80's popular (hair) metal revolution.

KevShmev · « **Reply #196 on:** March 30, 2012, 07:36:41 AM »

Night Ranger - Sister Christian

This gets made fun of all of the time for being one of those 80s monster ballads, but even if it is, it is still a very well-written one. And the solo by Brad Gillis is very good; probably one of the best ones when it comes to 80s monster ballads. And who doesn't think of Boogie Nights when you hear this song now (assuming you've seen the movie)? "It's Cosmo. He's Chinese."

lonestar · « **Reply #197 on:** March 30, 2012, 07:40:34 AM »

Very good song. Saw them once on a New Years show with Eddie Money opening for them, Eddie fucking blew them off the stage, no one had anything left for Night Ranger.

Orbert · « **Reply #198 on:** March 30, 2012, 07:52:55 AM »

I'm a railroad buff, and used to watch this show on PBS called "Tracks Ahead" hosted by Spencer Christian, who at the time was a well-known ABC newscaster (Good Morning America, etc.). It was a cool show, and I learned a lot about trains.

Then this horrible song started playing on the radio 24/7, along with a video that was on MTv six times per hour, and now I can't even hear the name Spencer Christian without thinking of that horrible song. I actually vomited once from hearing that song, at my mother-in-law's house, on her brand new carpet. She just smiled and nodded, understandingly. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" was a rocker, and playing it was very cool with that great keyboard sound that actually got chicks to notice me for five minutes a night, but I will never forgive Night Ranger for ruining one of my favorite TV shows for me.

♫ Spencer Christian, oh, your time has come...

lonestar · « **Reply #199 on:** March 30, 2012, 07:56:40 AM »

SystematicThought · « **Reply #200 on:** March 30, 2012, 08:36:17 AM »

Wasn't Toto's Africa and Rosanna pretty big at the time in the 80s (I think '81?)

jingle.boy · « **Reply #201 on:** March 30, 2012, 08:38:25 AM »

One of the first power ballad's I remember. Great track. I remember loving this at the same time as Oh Sherrie.

Lowdz · « **Reply #202 on:** March 30, 2012, 02:23:05 PM »

Quote from: jingle.boy on March 30, 2012, 08:38:25 AM

One of the first power ballad's I remember. Great track. I remember loving this at the same time as Oh Sherrie.

Good song, good band. Their "comeback" album last year was excellent. It rocked too. Never seen the video- NR weren't a hit in the UK.

King Postwhore · « **Reply #203 on:** March 30, 2012, 04:34:31 PM »

Love Sister Christian. Saw them play it live and the blew Starship away.

jjrock88 · « **Reply #204 on:** March 30, 2012, 07:03:25 PM »

great power ballad.

Jaq · « **Reply #205 on:** March 31, 2012, 08:58:05 AM »

I told this story in a thread about Kansas a while back, but I can dust it off again for here.

I saw Night Ranger open for Kansas on the In The Spirit of Things Tour, playing at a club that held maybe 800 people. One of the best concerts I've ever been to, made more memorable by a drunk guy who had decided he knew me and was willing to share a bottle of tequila with me. And when the management confiscated that the guy bought me like a 32 ounce beer. Fun times.

As for Sister Christian-as a Night Ranger fan at the time, I actually found Sister Christian to be one of the weaker songs on that album, but I also knew it was going to be a hit. It had all the earmarks of a successful ballad back then, and I was right. It actually is one of the songs from the 80s I considered overplayed, and I have a tendency to skip it whenever it pops up on the Night Ranger greatest hits CD I sometimes play.

KevShmev · « **Reply #206 on:** March 31, 2012, 09:01:21 AM »

If anyone has ever seen the Styx Behind the Music, or saw Damn Yankees when they toured in the early 90s, you'll know that Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw had some fun making fun of each other for their hugely popular ballads from their former respective bands. Shaw would make fun of Blades for Sister Christian, and Blades would make fun of Shaw for Babe (which irked Dennis DeYoung).

King Postwhore · « **Reply #207 on:** March 31, 2012, 05:32:46 PM »

Yeah. I did see that. Way too funny Kev. This is how I feel about the first 2 Damn Yankees albums, half the album great, half forgettable.

KevShmev · « **Reply #208 on:** March 31, 2012, 10:39:57 PM »

That sums up the first Damn Yankees album, I agree.

But the second one is dynamite. Much more rocking than the first, in songwriting and production (more low end/balls). Great record from start to finish!

Orbert · « **Reply #209 on:** April 01, 2012, 07:07:01 AM »

I should listen to the second album some more, I guess. I checked out the first album and thought it was alright, kinda 50-50 like others have said, but I don't know if I even made it through the second album. It just sounded like more of the same. Maybe it takes multiple listens. I do like both Nugent and Shaw, so I was disappointed by the first album and may not have given the second album a fair chance.

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Author Topic: MTV in the 80s Song of the Day (Read 305385 times)