Friday 80s Flashback for April 29, 2022

[A Flock of Decades] -- Due to movies, TV, and the Space Shuttle, the 1980s had something of a fascination with "space age." That simply meant folks were fascinated with things that looked or sounded ... space age. One band that capitalized on that fascination, at least briefly, was A Flock of Seagulls. A Flock of Seagulls formed in 1979 as a four-piece band: Mike Score (keyboards, vocals) and Ali Score (drums) formed the original lineup with Frank Lee Maudsley (bass) and Paul Reynolds (guitar). In a 2017 interview, Score said the band took their name from a song – "Toiler on the Sea" by the Stranglers – and the 1970 book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. And forty years ago this week, on April 30, 1982, this quartet released their self-titled debut album. Their debut recording is, according to some, a concept album about alien abduction [reference: The New Rolling Stone Album Guide; 4 Rev Updated edition 2004]. Looking back, maybe their hair had some alien interaction.

I was all of 14 years old when A Flock of Seagulls was released and I devoured it. I eventually owned the album on cassette and even had three of the four singles on 45. I still own one of those 45s. Two of the singles – "Modern Love Is Automatic" and "Telecommunication" – were released in late 1981, but still count as singles from A Flock of Seagulls as they were released to generate buzz. "Modern Love Is Automatic," which also appeared on the band's 1981 EP, failed to chart, at least as far as I can tell. "Telecommunication," the second single, did very well in the dance circuit, peaking at #19 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. The third single was the heavily popular "I Ran (So Far Away)," which hit the top ten in many countries, including three charts in the US: US Billboard Hot 100 (#9), US Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80 (#8), and US Billboard Top Tracks (#3). It failed, however, to dent the top 40 of the band's home country of the UK. Released fourth, "Space Age Love Song" didn't chart very well; it peaked at #30 in the US and #34 in the UK. But I still rank it as something of a personal favorite. After all, it's the single I still own on 45. Oh, and "Space Age Love Song" apparently earned its name because lead guitarist Paul Reynolds suggested it actually sounded like a space age love song. 

The US track listing, which matches this post's embedded YouTube playlist, differs from the original UK track listing. Not only are the songs in a different order, but the UK release also includes an extra track: "Tokyo." 

 

So, enjoy an album that turns 40 in the very same week in which I turn 54!

Flashback: A Flock of Seagulls (1982)

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That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven! 

Note: For this week's writeup, I leaned heavily on my three-song A Flock of Seagulls retrospective from November 2014. Looking back, that post was not as retrospective as I would have liked: It has one song from the debut album, which is covered in more detail in today's post, and two from the band's 1983 follow-up, Listen.

Spider Man: No Way Home

 Dangrdafne review

Overall I liked this movie. I don't think I will go as far as some are saying that it is the greatest movie of all time. Although I understand why people think that. It is quite clever and a really good story. I loved all the special guests and I really really wish I could have not been spoiled and was able to enjoy the guests as they showed up. So that perhaps detracted a little bit from me being all in on this movie. 

I also cried waaaaay too much during this movie and quite unexpectedly too. I wasn't spoiled on one very sad thing and I am grateful, in a way, because I was allowed a true response but it was quite sad and I cried quite a lot and hard. Sigh

I love Ned! I really love Ned! He is such a wonderful character and Jacob Batalon who portrays him is just perfection to me. His love of Peter Parker brings me pure joy. He is the friend everyone needs in this world. 

Zendaya is also perfect for MJ and I like that she made it to the in crowd in the last movie and is a strong support for Peter. The three of them, Peter, Ned and MJ just make my heart happy and of course this movie just broke my heart, no spoilers here.

If you want the full experience of this movie, I highly recommend watching all the previous Spider Man movies made. I am sure I missed many things because I couldn't remember what happened in the previous movies. In fact, I asked Brainwise many questions and clarifications throughout the movie. If I had known I needed all that background, I would have watched the previous films. And I still might :)

I like Tom Holland as Spider Man and Peter Parker. I think he portrays both very well and his comedic timing just works for me. And I was very impressed with all the emotions he had to go through in this movie. He filled my heart with joy and broke it all at the same time. Not an easy thing to do.

3 paws, if I hadn't been spoiled 4 paws :)

Ok, so we watched it again already and I am updating my rating to 4 paws. I get it. It is so clever in how it is put together and how it melds the past and the future. I loved all the guests and how it all comes together. So good. But I still think I might go back and watch all the others again ;)

Friday 80s Flashback for April 22, 2022

[Big Science, Big Art] -- Prior to 1982, Laurie Anderson was already well-known in the art world. But when the single "O Superman" brought her wider notice in 1981, particularly after it hit the #2 position in the UK, WB signed her to a multi-release deal and re-released the single. It's a fair bet you know of Laurie Anderson because of either "O Superman" or her 1986 collab with Peter Gabriel, "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)." Anyway, her first record with WB – indeed, her debut studio album – was this week's Flashback, Big Science, which turned 40 this week (on 4/19/1982). I first encountered Anderson's brand of art/performance music in college, probably some time after the release of her 1986 concert film, Home of the Brave. So, I found Big Science through her back catalog. Fortunately, someone on our dormitory floor had what, at that time, was a pretty complete collection. Big Science is really a collection of highlights from United States Live, Anderson's eight-hour concert-art piece that was presented over the course of two nights (here is audio from a 05/27/82 performance at the Palladium, NYC). The music/performance aspects of that show were later recorded for a live album in 1983. 

During my re-listen of Big Science to prepare for today's post, I was struck by these lyrics from the title track:

Well just take a right where they're going to build that new shopping mall

Go straight past where they're going to put in the freeway

Take a left at what's going to be the new sports center

And keep going until you hit the place where

They're thinking of building that drive-in bank

You can't miss it. 

40 years later, these lyrics are still topical, particularly on Earth Day. 

In this week's embedded YouTube playlist, I've included a short video featuring Laurie Anderson at work in her home studio. Enjoy!

Flashback: Big Science (4/19/1982)

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That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for April 15, 2022

[40 Year Old Diver] -- In October 2020, we lost Eddie Van Halen, the guitarist and driving force behind the band with his surname. He was only 65 years old at the time of his death. But forty years ago this week, on April 14, 1982, a 27-year-old Eddie released Diver Down, the fifth studio album by the mighty VH. The album's first single – a cover of Roy Orbison's 1964 hit, "(Oh) Pretty Woman" – preceded the LP's release by several months, hitting the charts onJanuary 18, 1982. They released the second single – a cover of the  Martha & The Vandellas song, "Dancing in the Street" – concurrent with the LP's release on April 14, 1982. The band was supposed to take a hiatus after releasing "(Oh) Pretty Woman," but due to the single's success, Warner Brothers put pressure on Van Halen for a new album, and the quartet squeezed out Diver Down in two weeks (according to tour manager Noel Monk's 2017 memoir, Runnin’ With the Devil. The album includes three other covers (for a total of five!): 

• "Where Have All the Good Times Gone!" originally recorded by the Kinks
• the 1924 song "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" – with a clarinet solo by Eddie and Alex Van Halen's father, Jan Van Halen
• "Happy Trails," the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans classic 

There were also three instrumentals, which is three times the number of instrumentals featured on any previous Van Halen album. The instrumentals are "Cathedral," Intruder" (the intro to "Pretty Woman"), and "Little Guitars (Intro)."

After the darker themed Fair Warning (1981), Diver Down's combination of pop covers, brighter synths, and Eddie's blistering guitar riffs proved successful. The record peaked at #3 on the US Billboard 200, and even ended 1982 as one of the top 100 albums of the year. Of course, the singles did pretty well, too. "(Oh) Pretty Woman" peaked at #12 and #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Mainstream Rock charts respectively. "Dancing in the Street" peaked at #38 and #3 on those same charts. 

At the time, Eddie Van Halen admitted he had fun recording the songs on this album. But Diver Down is supposedly one of the Van Halen brothers' least-favorite records, mainly due to recording so many songs that were previously hits. Having said that, my favorite tracks split the difference between covers and originals: "Dancing in the Street" and "Cathedral." 

In the embedded YouTube playlist this week, the instrumental intro for two songs are part of the main track's video. So, the fifth video, Van Halen - (Oh) Pretty Woman (Official Music Video), has "Intruder" and "(Oh) Pretty Woman" together, and the seventh video, Van Halen- Little Guitars w/ intro (HD) ... well, it's pretty obvious what is in that video. 

Flashback: Diver Down (1982)

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That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for April 8, 2022

 

[Broadsword] -- 40 years ago this weekend – on April 10, 1982 – Jethro Tull released The Broadsword and The Beast. This was the band's 14th studio release and, after a major lineup change, it was a shift to electronic rock. I mean, sure, when compared to the folk rock and progressive rock of prior releases, Broadsword can seem to be too reliant on keyboards and swirling synths, but all the other elements of the band were in place, albeit with some different players. Speaking of the players, apparently the band was split between using "Beastie," the first track on side one, or "Broadsword," the opening track on side two, as the album's title track. As you can see, they ultimately opted for a combined album title, but the band also gave each side of the LP its own title (i.e., the first five tracks are Beastie, and the last five are Broadsword).   

Oh, and some critics were harsh, either in 1982 or more recently. A Rolling Stone review anointed this record with two out of five stars, concluding that "...the real beast may be Anderson’s penchant for ponderous sermonizing." Not to be outdone, AllMusic's Bruce Eder singles out two standout tracks ("Broadsword" and "Pussy Willow") but bashes the rest of the album as "little better than tuneless drivel." Kerrang referred to it as "Tull's Lame Beast" and suggested borrowing it from a fan if you weren't a completist. Still, many fans responded well. Sales were good, enough that the album reached #14 in Germany and Norway while peaking at #19 and #27 in the US and the UK respectively. Of the two singles, "Fallen On Hard Times" landed at #20 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart. And this record still ranks in the top 20 of Tull's best-selling albums of all time. 

I bought my own copy of the LP, probably in 1984, or 1983 at the earliest. And I'm pretty sure it was in a discount bin at the time (I also picked up a copy of Jethro Tull's 1979 album, Stormwatch, from that same bin). I was initially struck by that cover image, a watercolor painted by artist Iain McCaig, featuring bandleader Ian Anderson as a fairy creature. McCaig also did the back cover image, a stunning ship with a dragon-headed prow (see below). Louder/Prog published an interview with McCaig about the cover art in 2015. Check it out if you want to know the cool easter eggs he included. 

And while that cover art might have lead the younger me to expect fantasy-themed songs in a heavy metal setting (rather than Anderson's musings about early 1980s politics in the UK), there is still just enough metaphor here that this record kind of became my standard soundtrack for Dungeons and Dragons. I mean, for reading D&D materials (modules, Dragon magazine, etc.), not during actual game time. Oh, and Martin Barre's playing on both acoustic and electric guitar is great! In my re-listen for this week's Flashback, I would have to say that my favorite tracks are "Fallen On Hard Times," "Slow Marching Band," "Broadsword," and "Seal Driver," all from the original 1982 release. I have not yet revisited the eight bonus tracks from the 2005 CD reissue. 

This week, I'm giving you two options for listening: full album (one embedded video) or individual tracks (embedded playlist). Enjoy! 

"I see a dark sail on the horizon, set under a black cloud that hides the sun. Bring me my broadsword and clear understanding. Bring me my cross of gold as a talisman."

Flashback: The Broadsword and the Beast (Full Album)

Flashback: The Broadsword and the Beast (10-Track Playlist)

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That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!

The Ingredients of Love by Nicolas Barreau

 Book review by Dangrdafne

What a lovely lovely book. Such a joy to read and I don't know why but I am so surprised it was written by a male author. 

I love that Nicolas Barreau is in touch with love and how much it means to people. His writing is impeccable and pulls you right in to Paris and the lives of his characters. I could smell all the food and I got as intoxicated as the characters as they drank their wine. Such a luscious unconventional conventional love story.

There is so much to talk about but I wouldn't want to give anything away. I do love though that the author at times prepares the reader for what is to come and you still wonder what it will be. I don't usually think about books becoming movies but since I could see so much of this book from the writing, I would love to see this come to life on a screen. 

4 paws

Friday 80s Flashback for April 1, 2022

[Close Encounters of the BÖC Kind] -- The release date for this weekend's Flashback topic varies according to source. Some list it as April 1, 1982, while others have the more vague April 1982. And a few others simply list the year: 1982. But there is at least agreement that Blue Öyster Cult's third live album, Extraterrestrial Live, turns 40 years old this year (maybe even on this very day!). It's a double length LP with a total of 13 tracks, and most of the recordings are from the 1981 tour (supporting Fire of Unknown Origin). Two tracks – possibly "Dominance and Submission" and "Black Blade" – were recorded in 1980. One might have been from BÖC's Mirrors Tour and the other while supporting Black Sabbath's Heaven & Hell Tour (aka The Black and Blue Tour), but I cannot tell which song is from which tour. The front-and-back-cover artwork definitely has that Close Encounters vibe with the front depicting the arrival of a space priest and their alien dobermans, and the back illustration featuring the band as the ship's crew (see below). This imagery also plays up the band's whole mythology of being "a group of aliens who had assembled to secretly guide Earth's history" (The World Was Their Öyster, item #2). Anyway, this is another live album that can serve as both a greatest hits (so far) collection and a concert sampler. Everyone needs live versions of "Burnin' for You," "Godzilla," and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." 

I just wish there was more cowbell. 

Flashback: Extraterrestrial Live (April 1982)

The full wraparound cover (click to embiggen):

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That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

I'll see you in seven!