One of the biggest questions from the 1980’s music diehards always wanted to know was—exactly who is Jessie’s Girl? Sadly it’s a mystery Rick Springfield fanatics like myself may never see solved, but thanks to my recent revelation that Songfacts.com is the greatest website on the internet, we were allowed some perspective. In a 2009 … Read More
If you ever needed evidence Michael Jackson had the ability to make everything better, look no further than Rockwell’s Somebody Watching Me, which except for Jackson slaying the chorus is otherwise at best a novelty song—and that’s a generous assessment. I really don’t care about Rockwell when it comes to music, although the story behind … Read More
Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. Electric word life. It means forever and that’s a mighty long time but I’m here to tell you there’s something else. The afterworld. A world of never ending happiness, you can always see the sun, day or night. So when you … Read More
I never realized I was that big a Wham fan until now, as a second of their songs (kind of theirs) have landed inside the Top 20 of my countdown. Oh well, shit happens. If you want to be technical, Careless Whisper actually in United States was credited as “Wham featuring George Michael”, but we’re not … Read More
Musically, my life changed in 1984 when Prince released his Purple Rain album. Not long before, Michael Jackson’s Thriller was my undisputed favorite album of all-time—and by that I mean the first 12-13 years of my inconsequential existence. Man, that album of Prince’s in ’84—–between his unrivaled guitar rifting, singing and implausible compositions that accompanied … Read More
Before proceeding, there’s two myths surrounding this song and its artist I need of being dispelled, and I must give credit to Songfacts.com for pointing them out. I’m sure some fans already knew but I’d bet mostdidn’t. Firstly, neither Jenny nor the famous phone number accompanying her name were actually real. The tune, co-written by … Read More
Whether you wanted it that way or not, few things in the mid-80s were bigger than Phil Collins. Between his work with Genesis and a solo career beginning to flourish, Collins was at the forefront of pop/rock music during this era. Collins’ legend grew in 1984 when he was asked to produce Philip Bailey’s (of … Read More
When I was 14-15 years old in the mid 80’s, most my friends idolized various athletes and celebrities. Generally they ranged from Larry Bird, Wayne Gretzky, Don Mattingly, Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy. Not me. I desperately wanted to be Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties—I’m talking to the point that as a seventh and … Read More
Alright, people. Not every song needs to be about lost love, making love, world peace, imperative social issues or scorned revenge to be a classic tune. Every now and then it’s alright to simply say what the fuck ever, and have a little joy in your life. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go may be … Read More
As I write the first few sentences for this entry, I couldn’t tell you if Still Loving You by the Scorpions actually spent a day on the Billboard charts. Frankly, I don’t give a shit either. In fact, it leads to one of my bigger musical hot takes, which is this—- Still Loving You by … Read More
