1982: I Think Old People Are Really Boring

Oh, Rik.  I will miss you so much.

I'll never forget watching The Young Ones on MTV in early 1988, after 120 Minutes.  No other show before or since knocked me on my ass more.  It changed my comedic sensibilities forever, and for the better, and Rik Mayall was a HUGE part of that.

From 1987: Heaven Is A Kiss And A Smile

One of the most haunting records ever made.

On February 27, 1988, Father Figure topped the Billboard charts, staying there for two weeks. It was a track from George Michael's monster LP Faith, which was released in October 1987.

The model in the video is Tania Coleridge.

There isn't a bad track on Faith,
but this one has been my favorite for 25 years.

Grocery Store Favorites, Holiday Edition: Do They Know It's Christmas?

There is such a level of joy in this song, even 27 years later, that I just can't be snarky about it. Watching the video is like seeing old friends again.

Feed the world...let them know it's Christmastime again.

If It's Friday, That Must Mean That I Am Having Meds-Related Hallucinations Where, In My Mind, It's 1981

The only thing that can be said about this tune: Fuck yeah!

This tune is off a brilliant album called Worlds Apart. Yes, I own it, and it rocks. It rocks so very, very hard.

Saga is from Canada, the land of other such brilliant bands as Rush and Loverboy.

This tune peaked at #26 on the Billboard pop chart in March 1983. (Is it just me, but was the fall of 1982 to the summer of 1983 a particularly splendid time for music?)



Now, pardon me. I have to shove a wad of Chewels in my mouth in defiance as my Dad banishes me from the dinner table yet again for declaring that Ronald Reagan Is The Biggest Disaster To Have Ever Befallen This Country.

(p.s. I miss you, Dad.)

From 1981: Stop Dragging My Heart Around

I can't stop watching this beautiful clip.

I idolize Stevie Nicks. One of the true great rock n' roll ladies (a dying breed).

This song appears on Nicks' first solo release, Bella Donna.

In this video, interestingly enough, the Heartbreakers are the backup band.



Now pardon me, I have to go put some beads in my hair.

From February 1982: Does She Walk? Does She Talk? Does She Come Complete?

A terrific write-up about the song and its video

A bit of trivia: I was in sixth grade when this song was at its zenith. As I went to Catholic school, we kids were not permitted to sing this song on the playground or at lunchtime or whenever...not even the "na na na na na na" part.

The funny part is that I was so very sheltered and innocent still that I had no idea what the song was actually about, but since the nuns had such a hard time with it, I actually asked my mother what the big deal was.

And my mother, as always when it came to such matters, was honest with me.

Starting 2011 Off Right: By Taking Things Back To 1981!

And for me, that means Chilliwack.

From 1987: I'd Say Her Values Are Corrupted, But She's Open To Change...

Just because it's marvelous and because it's Tuesday.

This is a cover of a Jules Shear demo.



Then one day she's satisfied and
the next I find her cryin'
and it's nothing she can explain

From 1980: Just Like The Old Man In That Book By Nabokov

"That book by Nabokov" is Lolita, one of my three favorite books ever.
I was singing this in the shower just now, so I figured, why not make it into a blog post?

Off of 1980's Zenyatta Mondatta, the third LP from The Police.



Her friends are so jealous
you know how bad girls get
sometimes it's not so easy to be the teacher's pet