Friday 80s Flashback for February 22, 2018

[In the Spirit] -- Last weekend I attended a retreat as a member of the staff of the School of Sacred Ministries. In my preparations for that retreat, I found myself with no time to post a Flashback. Before I go on, let me discuss the retreat topic. For that retreat, students of the School of Sacred Ministries focused on their "Religions of Origin." The idea being that, whether we are still part of the tradition we were raised in, it has had and continues to have an impact on us, upon our psyche. That impact can be positive or negative, and is often both. And you need to examine the impact and own it. Then and only then can you move on, taking what you need from the past and discarding the rest. So, this weekend, I present some songs inspired by last week's retreat. These tunes have religious and spiritual themes to them. What those themes are might be obvious in some cases, and hidden in others. I'll try not to spend too much time in spelling any of them out. Like with most art, interpretation should be left up to the observer. Or, in this case, the listener (and music video viewer). If you're curious as to what tracks spirited their way onto my latest playlist, read and hear more after the jump. 

Friday 80s Flashback for February 8, 2019

[Workin'] -- I've been thinking about working and employment this week. Both in terms of having work to do and being unemployed (or even underemployed). It's all we can do to stay one step ahead of the mortgage, or healthcare bills, right? I don't recall if healthcare costs were problematic in the 80s, but finding and keeping decent jobs was definitely high on the social anxiety meter. The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh? So, with this in mind, I opted to feature songs about work and working in this week's Flashback. There are no party anthems like Loverboy's "Working the the Weekend." But this week's playlist isn't strictly somber, either. So, which workhorse tracks made the cut this week? Read and hear more after the jump!

Friday 80s Flashback for February 1, 2019

[RIP James Ingram] -- I had something else in mind for this week's Flashback. But then I read the news of James Ingram's passing. He lost his battle with brain cancer at the age of 66 on 1/29/19. Now, if the name isn't familiar, I'll bet his voice was. Ingram's smoothly soulful voice lent itself to a number of hits in the 80s and 90s. Interestingly, the vast majority of those hits were collaborative in nature. He was either a guest on another artist's record, or he was featured in a duet. He didn't score a solo hit until 1990. But you know his collaborations. "Baby, Come to Me" with Patti Austin in 1982. "What About Me?" with Kenny Rogers and Kim Carnes in 1984, And "Somewhere Out There," from 1986's An American Tail: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, with Linda Ronstadt. According to Wikipedia, Ingram scored eight Top 40 hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, 13 top 40 hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, 20 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, and two Hot 100 #1 singles. If you want to know what tracks I've chosen to remember him from that spectrum of hits, read and hear more after the jump.