Execproducer Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I started getting nostalgic after seeing the requests to to do another 80's movie poll and started thinking about the music of those times. I'm not down for throwing out a lot of rules for posting stuff, so I'll keep it simple. It's from the 80's and why it's great. If you asked anyone, and I mean anyone, about Dexy's Midnight Runners, you were probably going to hear a lot of laughter. But someone was buying this song. It was fucking big for a minute. And if you bothered to dig a little deeper( Obviously a much more labor intensive task in the 80's) , you would have been rewarded with discoveries from their Too-Rye-Ay album such as "Let's Make This Precious" , "Plan B" , "Liars A to E", and an absolutely fantastic cover of "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)". Their case for being a good band was unfortunately underscored by Kevin Rowland's voice breaking like a 13-year-old during live appearances. But I would urge anyone who has an interest in Blues/Soul and the British version of it, to seek out as much Dexy's as possible. They certainly do not deserve to be lumped in with the Kajagoogoos and Real Lifes and whatnot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 When I was in 7th grade I was a huge metal head already. But of all things I made a tape of this off the radio. And then used that tape to tape it onto another tape over and over again so I had a tape of nothing but this song. It was a dirty secret I kept locked away our of shame. I thought the weird bird-looking British chick was the hottest thing...until I found out they were just from San Francisco. I was shattered. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiffshots Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I will always enjoy this song BECAUSE of its cheesetastic-ness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Miner Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I forgot to include this album on my DVDVR 80s albums list and I would have had it top 10. full Montreux show of Talk Talk in 1986 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYC72eBBABY 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADCAP Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I always felt that this song encapsulated my pre-teen years and the 80's vibe as a whole. I've always been a not-so-closeted Rod Stewart fan: This song reminds of my mom and our bonding time going to the Baltimore Inner Harbor every other weekend in '85. It was in HEAVY rotation during this time. I think this song is the reason why I love the movie Real Genius and loved Dennis MIller's HBO show: I fucking loved the 80's... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 As long as you are on Dexys, don't forget about "Celtic Soul Brothers". Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From a Shell) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I started getting nostalgic after seeing the requests to to do another 80's movie poll and started thinking about the music of those times. I'm not down for throwing out a lot of rules for posting stuff, so I'll keep it simple. It's from the 80's and why it's great. If you asked anyone, and I mean anyone, about Dexy's Midnight Runners, you were probably going to hear a lot of laughter. But someone was buying this song. It was fucking big for a minute. And if you bothered to dig a little deeper( Obviously a much more labor intensive task in the 80's) , you would have been rewarded with discoveries from their Too-Rye-Ay album such as "Let's Make This Precious" , "Plan B" , "Liars A to E", and an absolutely fantastic cover of "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)". Their case for being a good band was unfortunately underscored by Kevin Rowland's voice breaking like a 13-year-old during live appearances. But I would urge anyone who has an interest in Blues/Soul and the British version of it, to seek out as much Dexy's as possible. They certainly do not deserve to be lumped in with the Kajagoogoos and Real Lifes and whatnot. I really loved this song back in the day. In the mid-90s, one of my role models/mentors/friends (who is a Texas punk and garage rock legend) told me about how they were actually this cool soul-inspired band. He mentioned that they refused to play along with a lot of the music industry games and rather than do interviews would purchase advertising space to write their own stories about themselves. Not long after, I stumbled across both the 12" single of "Come on Eileen" and the album at a thrift store, and purchased both. Definitely agree that they shoudn't be lumped in with the one-hit synth wonders. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Conn Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MORELOCK Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I know Aimee Mann has done a whole lot of critically acclaimed stuff I don't care about since, but this is easily the best thing she's ever done: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george young Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo Woodbine Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 It's great because it's so bizarre, it's like Ry Cooder forgot he was Ry Cooder. And because you can never have enough awkward white guys quasi-rapping. Malcolm looks and sounds like he's fresh from the asylum here, it's amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 http://youtu.be/iW8rFho6In8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 http://youtu.be/WCkmeP8s8W4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I forgot to include this album on my DVDVR 80s albums list and I would have had it top 10. full Montreux show of Talk Talk in 1986 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYC72eBBABY "Someday, Someway" will always be the definitive Marshall Crenshaw for my money, but that's a pretty fabulous song on its own. And Talk Talk always gets a thumbs up from me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Feast, demons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Execproducer Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 This song was part of the soundtrack of my life as a teenager. I wasn't much of a hip hop fan back then, but most of my friends were and it seemed like this song played at every party back in 85. It was also perfect for freaking with a girl you liked, something I wouldn't have ordinarily done if not for "A Fly Girl" booming out the speakers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Execproducer Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 Can't go into a second page without The Clash showing up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Miner Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 The Smithereens from late 1989 Prefab Sprout "Bonny" If I made a top 20 80s song list this would most likely have a spot. Replacements "Unsatisfied". Might as well post this as well since it would definitely be top 20. I think "I Don't Believe in You" by Talk Talk, "Teen Age Riot" by Sonic Youth and "Don't Answer Me" by Alan Parsons Project would also be in that debate. I suppose "Hang Down Your Head" by Tom Waits as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADCAP Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 This song was part of the soundtrack of my life as a teenager. I wasn't much of a hip hop fan back then, but most of my friends were and it seemed like this song played at every party back in 85. It was also perfect for freaking with a girl you liked, something I wouldn't have ordinarily done if not for "A Fly Girl" booming out the speakers. Nothing for nothing, but your sig is in sync with the song. Makes it that much better. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 I think this is the best one-hit wonder of them all. The beginning with the acoustic guitar line, the catchy guitar hook, the pounding drums/cymbal crashes cleverly hidden under the synth, Robbie Grey really putting some great subtle touches in his cadence during the verses before going up in register during the chorus, the piano and little feedback in the bridge before going back to the acoustic/synth combo, etc.My favorite part is the bridge into the humming. The bridge ends with an emphasis on the drums, before everything goes quiet for the humming with the bass -- the only time in the song you can really hear the bass, and it restarts with a really fast drum roll. I also really hate fade-outs in songs (hence why I hate Michael Jackson), but even with this there's a great little lyric change-up. This is just a fantastically produced song and great craftsmanship. The rest of Modern English's stuff is really bleh -- a lot of attempts to be a gloomy New Wave thing. But they wrote one of the best songs ever. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggulator Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 This is a total oddity. I would assume most right-thinking people really think Foreigner sucks. As does Lou Gramm. But "Midnight Blue" was always a guilty pleasure of mine. And, apparently, R.E.M. felt the same. Their version of this song is really awesome -- the guitars are awesome and you know Michael Stipe will sing the hell out of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Execproducer Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 I just straight-up don't give a shit about Van Hagar. And it always seemed to me like, deep down, Eddie didn't either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Fuck yeah!!! Might take off a couple of points because "Runnin' With the Devil" was released in the 1970s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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