MetaChat - Lost nuggets from the 80s

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03 January 2008

Lost nuggets from the 80s Because the decade wasn’t only about bad hair and makeup. Really. →[More:]

The Long Ryders – Looking for Lewis and Clark

This is the song that got me going down this particular track. I’ve had it rattling around my brain for the past couple of days – definitely one of my top faves of the time. The Long Ryders often get lumped in with that whole paisley underground thing, which has never seemed to be that good a fit to me. Sounds more like a punk-informed Buffalo Springfield to me.

Hunters and Collectors – Say Goodbye

There was a time when just about every mix tape I made had this track on it. The bassline just will not quit. Yet another great Australian band that never really translated here in the US.

Bob Dylan – Jokerman

It’s Dylan. You either like him or you don’t.

David & David – Welcome to the Boomtown

OK, yeah, there are bad 80s production values all over this one. Strip away all the craptastic synths, though, and you’ve got a great song.

post by: bmarkey at: 20:38 | 76 comments

NICE!

I've been in a very 80s mood lately, having gotten "Guitar Hero: Rocks The 80s" for Christmas, and already having bought "GTA: Vice City" just a few weeks ago... my PS2 is a time machine back to my late teens and twenties, all of a sudden.

I'm not much on the Dylan song, but the other three are all songs I used to like a LOT, and had not thought about in years. Thanks, bmarkey. Let me respond with another one:

The Rainmakers: Let My People Go-Go

posted by BoringPostcards 03 January | 20:57

Good call with the Long Ryders, bmarkey! and BP, you may be the only other Rainmakers fan I've ever met (remember this from my 300?)

also 'Ways To be Wicked' by Lone Justice. For my money, no other song combines country twang and sentiment with rock and roll punch and guts like this one.

and The Brandos with "Gettysburg". Punchy guitar, nice Creedency vocal and a smart lyric to boot. Why they didn't hit it big is beyond me.

Manowar "Carry On."(ignore the video, silly FF stuff) led by string shredder and former Dictator Ross The Boss, these loincloth clad loons defined affectionate parody. They completely goofed on metal's silly side, but made some killer lunkhead anthems anyway.

and of course Jason & the Scorchers "White Lies." One of the finest songs of that dark decade.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 21:16

Wow, I haven't heard about David & David in about one million years. Or maybe 20 anyway. I do love Jokerman. Actually, that album has a couple great ones on it I think. Despite Aaron Neville's attempts to ruin it, Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight is one of my 80's faves too.

I totally agree about that sad 80's production values on Welcome to the Boomtown. As a friend of mine once put it, it was fucking hard to have a decent snare sound in the 80s.

By '89, a not-so-bad snare sound was once again available:

The Smithereens - A Girl Like You

posted by richat 03 January | 21:17

Oooh, Smithereens! How did I forget. Good call, rich.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 21:25

Yeah, thanks jon...Man, what a band.

posted by richat 03 January | 21:35

jonmc, I have actually seen the Rainmakers in concert, twice! Which is probably how many times they came through the southeast back in the day. I have no idea why they played my tiny little college, but they did. I was a fan, not least for the way their songs made it sound like the universe was a positive place. "I did not put you here to suffer...."

The fact that they attributed the words of Little Richard to God was icing on the cake.

posted by BoringPostcards 03 January | 21:40

OK, this video was recorded in 2007, but this was one of my favorite songs in 1985 or so... "Kitchen Of Life" by North Carolina's own Fetchin' Bones.

posted by BoringPostcards 03 January | 21:48

bmarkey I kiss you for that David & David link!

xxxooo

posted by lonefrontranger 03 January | 22:04

not necessarily lost, and not likely to be enjoyed by the crowd in this thread, but by far my 80's fave (predictably):

The Smiths - How Soon Is Now

posted by lonefrontranger 03 January | 22:15

*explodes*

posted by jonmc 03 January | 22:16

Heh. I so knew that was going to happen.

Now, posting Smiths stuff and watching jon explode is fun, don't get me wrong, but if you do it too much you'll wear him out and Pips'll Glare™ at you, and that's not a good experience.

posted by Zack_Replica 03 January | 22:22

Nice work, kids.

Wait a minute - FETCHIN' BONES??? I thought I was the only one who knew about them! Very nice, bp.

And The Smiths are very welcome, lfr. Don't mind jon.

Oh, by the way, I found a few others...

The Bangles – Going Down to Liverpool

Wire Train – Last Perfect Thing

The Hoodoo Gurus – Leilani

Thin White Rope - Red Sun

Holly & The Italians – Youth Coup

(Sorry about the quality of the TWR and Holly vids. Also, I know the Wire Train track is way overproduced. I still like it.)

posted by bmarkey 03 January | 22:23

(heh. you make it sound like me & pips are Ralph & Alice Kramden of MeCha. Which of course makes Divine_Wino Ed Norton)

posted by jonmc 03 January | 22:25

Holly & the Italians, good call! Their cover of 'Chapel Of Love" rocks my world.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 22:26

I also saw the Rainmakers twice - and even saw their pre-Rainmakers band (Bob Steve and Rich I think). I thought their records were just OK, but live they were fantastic.

For my dollar in the mid 80's the absolute best alternative roots band was Jason and the Scorchers - who killed every single time I saw them. And jon - as mch I a love White Lies (and I do love that song), I think the Scorchers finest moment was "Both Sides of the Line".

Another great live band that I wa fortunate enough to see around the same time was Connecticut's Reducers, who played straight ahead melodic rock and roll. Nothing earth shattering, but every song kicked and they put on a hello of a show. I wish they got to the Midwest more often. And jon - they even covered the Dictators!

As for Hunters and Collectors, the song that I overplayed (and put on way too many mixes) was their cover of Ray Charles' "I Believe" ("oh johnny - when you know myyyyyyyyy name is ray!").

A lot of great music came in under the radar in the 80s.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 03 January | 22:27

does anybody besides me remeber E*I*E*I*O? (no link sorry)

posted by jonmc 03 January | 22:30

Vaguely. I know I've heard 'em, anyway, but don't recall their sound.

posted by bmarkey 03 January | 22:32

sort of BoDeans-ish, but peppier and ballsier.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 22:36

Over the years a few people have tried to get me to give Fetchin Bones another shot, but I never "got" them. Although I haven't heard them in 15 years, so I'm due to give them another chance.

And Long Ryders totally rocked. I saw them two or three times as headliners, but the best I saw them was actually opening for the Alarm. I think they came out determined to win over the crowd - and they did. I always thought they rocked way too much to be part of the Paisley Underground scene (other than the jangley guitars on the first album). I'd highly recommend "Still Get By" off the first record if you want to hear one of the best jangley guitar American pop songs ever.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 03 January | 22:37

jon - EIEIO were from these parts (Milwaukee I think), so they were on a lot of bills for a while. I saw them a few times - I think they were the first band I ever heard referred to as "cowpunk". I think my wife still has that album.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 03 January | 22:40

Good lord - I just noticed that jon mentioned the Brandos!!! I was about to say that I thought I was the only person that remembered them, but I actually forgot about them too. That song rocks. I forgot how much I loved it. Now I have to try to find a copy that album again, because I only knew it from the college radio station I worked at. Thanks for memory jog on that one.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 03 January | 22:45

*explodes*

jon, they're just a band.

posted by lonefrontranger 03 January | 22:47

slack, where were you when I was in high school and everybody (including my metalhead and punk pals) thought i was a weirdo for digging this stuff?

posted by jonmc 03 January | 22:51

FETCHIN' BONES??? I thought I was the only one who knew about them!

I've spent stupid amounts of time (and a bit of money) trying to get their whole discography on CD. It's not easy. "Bad Pumpkin" is just NOT available, as far as I can tell. I posted their cover of "Super Freak" (which surpasses the original, IMO, and I LOVE the original) some time ago. If you don't have it, lemme know.

posted by BoringPostcards 03 January | 22:52

also, aren't we forgetting the most obvious 80's under-the-radar band(and probably the best band of the whole decade)?

posted by jonmc 03 January | 22:52

OK, now I am grinning ear to ear. Why? Because I found this clip from "The Cutting Edge" featuring Zeitgeist. Oh my god, I had (OK, let's be honest - have) the biggest crush on Kim Longacre's voice. It makes me feel all funny...

Did I type that?

Um, yeah. Anyway, good stuff.

posted by bmarkey 03 January | 22:54

Hunters and Collectors I really liked after seeing this vid by them on an alternative video show (called Nite Dreems, if anyone remembers it...). That worked well with me liking Shriekback at the time, with the driving, tribal basslines and interesting lyrics.

I've never much gone for country stuff (much), but Rank and File were always worth a listen (and I've still got their first album on vinyl). Not sure what the rest of the band's doing, but Alejandro Escovedo's still going strong.

posted by Zack_Replica 03 January | 23:00

Actually, bp, I do have it. I think you posted it here awhile back, now that I think of it.

As for The Replacements: absolutely one of the best bands. I don't know that they ever really got lost... well, they sorta lost the thread themselves, after Bob got kicked out.

posted by bmarkey 03 January | 23:00

and before they became MTV idols in the nineties, there was this (screw you, that's agreat song) and this(during my post-college-flunkout year working nightshift at the bakery of the world's weirdest grocery, I saw that vidoe on MTV before going to work at the 2am to 10am shift and it helped save my sanity).

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:00

Did someone say 80's?

posted by pompomtom 03 January | 23:01

Did someone say 80's?

"Because the decade wasn’t only about bad hair and makeup."

posted by bmarkey 03 January | 23:05

Also: I'm amazed there's anyone outside Aus who'd listen to H&C.

Do you guys listen to Cold Chisel too?

posted by pompomtom 03 January | 23:06

Please bmarkey... that's ROCKING hair and makeup.

People are posting H&C... fully bogan mullet territory.

posted by pompomtom 03 January | 23:09

jonmc:

slack, where were you when I was in high school and everybody (including my metalhead and punk pals) thought i was a weirdo for digging this stuff?

jon - I think I was in college while you were taking heat in high school for liking that stuff. Or maybe even out of college and working in a record store. I was fortunate to know half a dozen other people from the college radio station who shared a love of the same kind of rock and roll in the mid 80s. It's always nice to know that you'll see a few familiar faces at shows.

jon - I love the Replacements (and you linked to one of my top 10 all time fave songs), but I'd hardly call the Replacements "under the radar".

And since we're talking 80's bands - here is my favorite American band of the 80's: the dB's. I think their first three albums are flawless, their fourth is damn great, and the Holsapple/Stamey album is a wonderful piece. One my concert highlights of the last few years was catching two of the dBs reunion shows.

On a similar tip - anyone remember the Bongos? Yeah, I've moved from American roots pop to straight ahead power pop, which is my main musical love. Too bad dodgygeezer isn't here to jump in - I recall him being an aficionado of all things power pop. Actually, where did he go - I don't think I've seen him here since I returned from my unexpected MeCha hiatus.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 03 January | 23:10

(also, I would posit that Sigue Sigue Sputnik wrote awesome synth-pop... visual aspect aside...)

posted by pompomtom 03 January | 23:11

and they are of course sanctified by this.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:12

awesome synth-pop.

contradiction in terms. synth-pop is a plague upon humanity.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:13

Notice that the song lfr posted could not exist (musically) without Sigue Sigue Sputnik. And since I like 'em both, this is a good thing.

posted by BoringPostcards 03 January | 23:14

seriously, the prevalence of synth-pop in the top 40 is what drove a lot of what should've been punk's natural audience into the arms of the metalhead nation (caveat: I love metal as much as punk).

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:15

synth-pop is a plague upon humanity.

Shit, synth-pop is why I survived my own youth.

This may or may not prove your point.

posted by BoringPostcards 03 January | 23:16

Whoa, hold up - The Smiths wouldn't exist without Sigue Sigue Sputnick? Am I reading that right?

posted by bmarkey 03 January | 23:18

*sigh*

YR FAVRITE BAND SUX AMIRITE?!

BP hold the fort and richat thanks for posting that Smithereens link (bookmarks Amazon download link).

ima take my sick arse to bed now, have fun stormin' the castle, kids!

posted by lonefrontranger 03 January | 23:20

BoPo, I love ya brother, but when I say 'synth-pop', I mean dreck like Thompson Twins and Duran Duran, which for a hormone-oozing dork like myself at the time, just wasn't cutting it. Twisted Sister and Raven may not have been as cool as the Ramones of Husker Du, but at least they rocked like they meant it, so they helped me survive my adolescence.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:20

Heh, there's always

Timbuk 3: Future's so Bright

Or Peter Gabriel with Shock the Monkey
Of Course his big album of the decade was "So": "Red Rain" "Sledgehammer" "In Your Eyes"

Kraftwerk: Pocket Calculator

Kate Bush: "Cloudbusting"

Violent Femmes "I held her in my arms"

posted by eekacat 03 January | 23:23

Good lord - is there a way we can all meet at a bar with a great jukebox?!?! You guys are killing me here. I need to go to bed, but now I just want to play records and chat about music.

bmarkey - I never got to see them live, but I loved the second Reivers album. "Secretariat" is a longtime fave. In fact, for me it's one of those songs that's so great it's unfiar to rest of their catalog. I know they have other great songs, but I love that one so much that whenever I make a mix tape/disc with them on it - it's THAT song. I can't bring myself to go with another cut.

jon - Soul Asylum rocked. Along with the Magnolias, they're my favorite Minneapolis band that wasn't the Replacements. Soul Asylum get a bad rap now, but for a few years they were unbeatable. They went from total punk rock on the first album to Hang Time, where they made better Aerosmith riffs than Aerosmith were making. After that ou have to pick and choose, but hen they hit they hit big. I've seen them tight and on target and I've seen them drunk and meandering their way through covers (hmmm...sounds like another Minneapolis band) - and both types of shows were a blast.

Seriously, I've got to go to bed.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 03 January | 23:24

Edging into the early 90's but it's about the 80's and it's a fine example of the alt.rock world making a peace offering to the mulletrockers:

Nerf Herder - Van Halen

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:26

and just to give metal a prop here: this video neatly encapsulates the appeal that made these guys cult legends (in the Northeast and England at least) before making it big:

Twisted Sister - You Can't Stop Rock And Roll

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:31

I love guitars and most of the music I listen is guitar based, but I still have a fondness for several synth bands/artists. I love Gary Numan (especially Replicas), Heaven 17, New Music, and OMD, to name a few off the top my head. Hell, I even liked at last a few songs by the Human League.

I never gave metal a chance growing up - I think I was too caught up in the "us vs them" attitude of college rock. I've warmed up to a few metal bands lately, but I still don't think I missed much. And most of the metal I Like now tends to be fringe metal (ie glammy, punky, or something that separated it from the hair mentality).

posted by Slack-a-gogo 03 January | 23:32

I never gave metal a chance growing up - I think I was too caught up in the "us vs them" attitude of college rock. I've warmed up to a few metal bands lately, but I still don't think I missed much.

You ever make it to the Apple, I'll give you a rundown on the nuances of the whole enterprise. There's more to it than you ver imagined.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:37

Never been real fond of the synth thing, myself - though there are individual cuts that appeal - but I've become much less dogmatic over the years. Music is a big, big tent. There's room for everybody.

posted by bmarkey 03 January | 23:37

amen, bmarkey. amen.

posted by jonmc 03 January | 23:49

Mojo Nixon:

Debbie Gibson is Pregnant With my Two Headed Love Child

Burn Down the Malls

Elvis is Everywhere

Dead Milkmen: Punk Rock Girl

One of my most favoritest songs/videos from the 80's: Donald Fagan's "New Frontier"

This video was all over MTV when it first started. Talking Heads "Once in a lifetime" Kind of represents early videos. But, I remember dancing to "Wild Wild Life" more. I loved that True Stories Album/Movie

Tom Tom Club: "Genius of Love"

posted by eekacat 04 January | 00:26

Holy shit. Fetchin' Bones and the Rainmakers. MY PEOPLE!

Remember Five Eight? Here's the NPR piece from a few years ago.

posted by BitterOldPunk 04 January | 00:41

Dang. Late to the party as usual. Still, I like to throw in a few, starting with this one by Don Dixon, still a pop masterpiece (crappy recording though.)
This one by Marshall Crenshaw made me happy back in the day.
I thought I'd hallucinated this video...
And this one takes me back to the basement at Tommy Simpson's house (he had cable) waiting for it to come on.

posted by black8 04 January | 02:50

I met/worked with Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper several times (they were great), and did sound for Dead Milkmen (who were complete dicks). That is all.

Oh, and I like David Sylvian.

posted by chuckdarwin 04 January | 07:17

The Smiths wouldn't exist without Sigue Sigue Sputnick? Am I reading that right?

Heh- no, bmarkey, I was referring to lfr's link to "Thou Shalt Always Kill," not the Smiths.

Five-Eight are a local band around here, BOP (from Athens, not Atlanta, actually)- seen them many times. They were excellent back in the day. They still play now and then but I haven't seen them in ten years, at least.

posted by BoringPostcards 04 January | 07:51

A bit late, but, Walking in LA by the Missing Persons.

(At this point, danf types and deletes 6 comments about the singer's costume. Gives up.)

posted by danf 04 January | 10:44

EBN-OZN "AEIOU Sometimes Y"

posted by geekyguy 04 January | 11:50

Ha! I love that song, geekyguy. (And man, is that video ever 80s.)

posted by BoringPostcards 04 January | 12:07

Killing Joke - Requiem

posted by Hellbient 04 January | 12:35

I've got both E*I*E*I*O albums.

Tom Petty wrote "Ways to Be Wicked."

"Going Down to Liverpool" is a cover of the original by The Waves (later Katrina and the Waves).

Amazon has a used copy of Bad Pumpkin.

posted by kirkaracha 04 January | 15:38

Late, yes, but I wanted to say, Slack-a-gogo, that I'm glad someone else remembers The Bongos. I really loved them. Part of the same "scene" as the awesomeThe Feelies.

Rain Parade--My Secret Country or lots of the Paisley Underground.

Wall of Voodoo. Sure, "Mexican Radio" doesn't count, but I'd say almost anything else by them (and it's all really great) does.

Also, not pop, but Death Angel fucking rock(ed). And they were just kids when they're first album came out.

I wish I could find an mp3 of my favorite Lewis and Clark-themed song, but I can't. So, here's the artist direct page for The Embarrassment's Heyday retrospective. You can hear a clip of it there. It doesn't equal the greatness of James Tate's poem, though.

Lewis And Clark Overheard In Conversation

then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs
then we’ll get us some wine and spare ribs

eekacat: thanks for those.

black8: I just picked up that Marshall Crenshaw album for a buck at the Twilight Rummage Sale in PDX. I always really like him, but can only listen to about two songs before I have to shut it off. I have the same problem with Tom Petty--it's just too power pop/pop rock or something for me. Oh well, I'm glad I found it. I really like his "You're My Favorite Waste of Time" as well (apparently covered by Bette Midler at some point).

posted by sleepy_pete 04 January | 15:44

Fatal Flowers - Younger Days

I looked for Nowhere to Lay My Head, but I can't find it.

posted by deadcowdan 04 January | 15:44

Dammit. Why do I keep using "they're" for "their"? This is a new problem I must address.

Also, I think I've mentioned this before, but Little Hits is an awesome mp3 blog (started by a great guy from Lawrence, KS). They do tons of this type of 80s/90s music. Oh, and speaking of Lawrence, I always loved how on the Jason and the Scorchers album mentioned above, one of the first people/things thanked on the liner notes is KJHK, college station in Larryville. Makes me a bit proud.

posted by sleepy_pete 04 January | 16:09

Amazon has a used copy of Bad Pumpkin.

Thanks, kirkaracha. $25 for a cassette seems a little steep to me, though... if I can ever find my worn-out vinyl copy, I may just have to try recording it and making my own CD from it.

posted by BoringPostcards 04 January | 19:28

Y'know, it occurs to me that I might have Bad Pumpkin on vinyl, myself. I know I had it at one point. I'll go check The Archives (AKA our basement) tomorrow morning. If I've got it, I'd be happy to send it your way, bp.

posted by bmarkey 04 January | 19:37

You can get an LP on eBay for a dollar, BP.

posted by essexjan 04 January | 20:22

Pac. Man. Fever.

posted by not_on_display 04 January | 20:37

I really really liked Marshall Crenshaw. I still have one of his CDs, "Good Evening".

sleepy_pete, I remember listening to Wall of Voodoo, and thinking their version of "Ring of Fire" was really great, as was their other stuff as you mention.

Chuck Darwin, I like David Sylvian, but his late stuff like he did with Robert Fripp. Wasn't much into Japan. I saw Mojo Nixon several times over the years, and I remember early on when they did promo gigs. I saw Mojo and Skid perform outside a record store in San Diego once, and they were really great. Hell, anyone who can come up with the idea for the Pleasure Barons with Country Dick Montana while in the Las Vegas drunk tank during an annual trip to see Tom Jones is alright in my book.

I have the two CDs by the Bears here somewhere. Now THERE was a band that was under the radar, and fronted by Adrian Belew no less.

"Trust"

"Aches and Pains"

posted by eekacat 05 January | 00:58

E*I*E*I*O released a new CD last year (interview).

posted by kirkaracha 05 January | 01:25

Bow Wow Wow.
Do You wanna Hold Me?
C30 C60 C90 Go! Bonus points for knowing what a C30, a C60, and a C90 were.
I Want Candy.

mx 80 sound. via Ralph Records.

Fun Boy Three.
The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum. As true now as then. (The youtube vid title is incorrect.)
It Ain't What You Do. Hey! Who are the pretty girls? they look familiar...
Tunnel Of Love.

posted by Zack_Replica 05 January | 03:13

Oh, and sleepy_pete - IMHO, you can't mention Wall of Voodoo (back in flesh) without mentioning Stan Ridgeway's solo stuff - The Big Heat, Don't Box Me In, Drive, She Said. Saw him live - great performer.

posted by Zack_Replica 05 January | 03:35

Argh, I didn't have any money when he was in town last time, but, yeah, Stan Ridgeway is great. Do I get bonus points if I know what a C81 is?

Also, I just thought of all the (metaphorically) incestuous NZ bands like Tall Dwarfs (second video starts with The Bats "North by North"), The Clean, and The Bats (there's a better version of "Block of Wood" recorded at WFMU in '93 over here, if you'll forgive the self link). Flying Nun-erific.

posted by sleepy_pete 05 January | 04:40

Kix - Yeah Yeah Yeah, The Itch

posted by Hellbient 05 January | 16:12

For some reason my family runs when I break out my old Replacements vinyl. Perhaps it's the blistering volume and far away look on my face. I saw them at Theater Gallery in Deep Ellum in Dallas years ago, and the Bronco Bowl and the Arcadia Theater too if I remember correctly. All of these venues are long gone now.

misty...water...colored...memories...

posted by haunted by Leonard Cohen 05 January | 19:57

Pleasure and Pain - Divinyls. We have Chrissy Amphlett to thank for Courtney Love, but I forgive her.

posted by goo 06 January | 12:26

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