Friday 80s Flashback for September 29, 2023

[Still Shouting] -- By 1983, music fans had already experienced the marriage of heavy rock and on-stage theatrics by way of such acts as Alice Cooper, KISS, Twisted Sister, New York Dolls, and others. But forty years ago this week, another chapter in the history of what we call glam metal – or, more derisively, hair metal – was written. On September 26, 1983, LA-based Mötley Crüe released their second album, Shout at the Devil. 

I had wanted to include a humorous history of glam metal, one that charted the rise of each new band by saying something like "deciding there weren't enough Alice Coopers, Stanley and Simmons started KISS," but I could not find it. Maybe the site is down, or I didn't archive the magazine article, or I made it up as a memory. So, if you're not all that familiar with this particular genre, I'll instead direct you to the more serious take on the subject by MasterClass: History and Sounds of Glam Metal Music. 

Back to today's album. 

While Mötley Crüe's debut album, Too Fast for Love (1981), had been raw and unpolished, almost hurried, and appealed to rockers and punks in almost equal measure, their new album was more popular with the heavy metal crowd, particularly the teen and pre-teen members of that fan demographic. And while fans were buying the record, watching the videos, and driving the Crüe up sales charts, critics were much less favorable towards them. Robert Christgau panned the record, saying the band's commercial appeal lay in false braggadocio on an album that is "[poor] even by heavy metal standards." J. D. Considine found them to be boring and unoriginal: "The whole point of bands like Motley Crue is to provide cheap thrills to jaded teens, and that's where the album ultimately disappoints." Retrospective reviews have been considerably kinder.

Of course, back in the 1980s, teens rarely considered, or even read, music critic reviews. They lapped up that false braggadocio, buying and recording the album, buying music mags that had pictures and interviews of the band, and generally annoying or scaring their parents with this obsession. (Remember the Satanic Panic of that decade?)

So, Shout at the Devil peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and it yielded three singles: "Shout at the Devil" (#30 on US Mainstream Rock, "Looks that Kill" (#54 US Billboard Hot 100), and "Too Young to Fall in Love" (#90 US Billboard Hot 100). While the album's production was slick and polished, the two music videos for the singles were ... well ... they were pretty much ... just go watch them and make your own decision. Or maybe don't. 

And, yes, before you ask, I did own this album on vinyl back in the day. I ultimately traded it to a classmate, but I cannot recall what I received for it. 

I give this album three and a half devil horns, mainly for the nostalgia. 🤘 

Flashback: Shout at the Devil (September 26, 1983)

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And 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!

Star Trek: Picard Season Three

 Speechless once again.

All my favorites from Next Generation (well almost all) in one place but once again. My heart is happy.

What an excellent story!! It allowed each character to have their moment on their own and together in various ways. I just loved seeing everyone again and in some ways it is like no time has passed at all. Just a little more gray and maybe a slight be slower to run :) I'll take it and I am grateful this was created and that everyone was part of it.

Obviously this season had even more tie ins to previous iterations and I am sure I missed a lot of information but it certainly didn't detract at all for my love and admiration of this show, characters, and actors. My sobbing during the season and at the final episode is a testament to that. The space these people hold in my heart is immense and special. I am forever grateful for knowing them.

Please go and watch and enjoy the pure love that is on your screen, both from the characters and from the actors. Like Strange New Worlds and the love they have for their characters, Picard season 3 is the same. The care that there is for the characters and their stories is impeccable. 

4 paws and a tail

Friday 80s Flashback for September 22, 2023

[Burnett through the Night] -- You probably remember T. Bone Burnett as a producer and session player, if you know his name at all, that is. But he got his start as a guitarist for Bob Dylan in the 1970s,  and he has composed, or produced, music for several film and television in the 2000s and 2010s. He also released several solo albums in the 1980s, the fourth of those records was released forty years ago this week on September 21, 1983. Proof Through The Night had no singles to speak of, and barely any chart presence; it peaked at #188 on the Billboard 200. 

In the past week, I might have come across more press for the 2007 reissue than for the original album. 

MOJO, for example, liked the "modern pop craft in these radio-leaning songs, grounded in a lyric confrontation that suggests Peter Gabriel writing like the ‘66 Dylan." Over on AllMusic, Brett Hartenbach called the album "an ambitious take on the state of the union and times, personified by various fallen characters" but was overall "smart, tight, [and] insightful." Oh, and if you happen to like all-star appearances on records, well, this one includes such luminaries as Pete Townsend, Mick Ronson, Richard Thompson, the Williams Brothers, Ry Cooder, and Masakazu Yoshizawa.  

Honestly, even with some of the dated lyrical content, this singer-songwriter collab seems like it hasn't aged a day though it was recorded four decades ago.

Flashback: Proof Through The Night (September 21,1983)

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Once again, I remind you that the rule of three applies when doing Flashbacks. As I've made my three offerings, 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!

Star Trek: Picard Season Two

Not as good as season one but still an excellent show.

Brainwise and I both believe this season could have been done in 5 episodes but they made it last 10.

Agnes as Queen was incredible and I completely understand and support what she did. I feel that I might have done the same if I were in her character.

Elnor is lovely but there may be a few too many mentions of him and it is part of the reason 10 episodes seemed too long for this season.

Picard's childhood and Maman was just a bit... ok a lot... overdone. Again this could have been 2 episodes max and it would have covered what was needed but instead it did run over the whole 10 episodes.

I wouldn't tell you not to watch but just be aware that this season may slow down just a bit too much. BUT you need it to cover some very important information that comes from season 1 and appears in season 3.

I would say that the guest star character is not my favorite but it ended up working out and my annoyance was for not.

3 paws

Friday 80s Flashback for September 15, 2023

[Good ol' Sports] -- By December 1982, Huey Lewis and the News had released their first two albums with Chrysalis Records: Huey Lewis and the News (1980), which stiffed, and Picture This (1982), which broke even. So, at this time, the band is maybe or almost a moderate success, and they even have a top ten hit to their credit (1982's "Do You Believe in Love"). But that was a hit song, not a hit record. And Huey Lewis knew time was running out for him and his band. They had one more chance to make that hit record, and then their three-record deal with Chrysalis Records would be over.  

No pressure, right? Well, forty years ago today – on September 15, 1983 – Huey Lewis and the News released that third album, Sports, and entered into realm of pop superstars. 

Sports had five top 20 hits, four of which were top ten on the Billboard Hot 100: "Heart and Soul" (#8), "I Want A New Drug" (#6), "The Heart of Rock & Roll" (#6), and "If This Is it" (#6). And while it was never released as a radio single, "Bad is Bad" became something of a hit video. So, at least five, or maybe six, of the album's nine tracks were all hits. Sports soared up the Billboard 200 and reached the #1 spot in June 1984. The album also earned Grammy nominations and performed well internationally, charting in the top 40 of many countries outside the US. 

Huey Lewis and the News would have on and off success over their next several albums, but they would never again reach the commercial and critical highs of Sports.

Flashback Sports (September 15, 1983)

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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!

Star Trek: Picard Season One

 

I am huge Patrick Stewart fan and an even bigger Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard fan. He is just pure perfection as himself and as Jean Luc. 

I loved this season. I heard many who had issues but I had none. I for one absolutely LOVED every cast member, I though they were perfectly cast and Alison Pill was so incredible (and could possibly be me  if I were in the show LOL). She has one scene that we replayed just because it was perfect and hilarious and soooooo me. 

We also repeated a Rios scene because it was absolute perfection and verrrrry unexpected ;)

There were soooooooo many tears though. Wow, that was truly unexpected. I don't think I realized how much I missed the characters or how much they have impacted my life and this is only the first season!!!

I loved the mystery of the season and I loved the discussions it led to between Brainwise and myself, including could the Romulans actually be right???

I give nothing away and I tell you, just sit down with a box of tissues and jump right in. Patrick Stewart brings it all along with the rest of the cast and we are off on an adventure of a lifetime, or two. I always appreciate the bigger questions that Star Trek asks as this season didn't hold back. There were times I thought I knew what I believed but by the end of the episode I was looking at it all a whole different way. Not many shows can do that after how many iterations. 

To that point, the show opens discussing death and I don't think of Star Trek as being about death. I always viewed it as being about exploration and finding life and helping other beings live their lives. But this season showed me what perhaps I didn't want to see or failed to realize and I am grateful for it. Life is not forever and you should get out and explore as much as you can in the time you have.

There were also tons of tie ins to Star Trek history and again I had to ask Brainwise quite a few questions but I would have been fine if I chose to not ask and just keep watching. Some things were answered as we went along, some things were not necessary in the end and other things helped me better appreciate the story.

We are already going to start Season 2 but I wanted to be sure to get this written before we did that. I am very curious where we are going next but I am definitely along for the ride. I wonder who we might run into this time around :)

4 paws

Friday 80s Flashback for September 8, 2023

[Theme] -- Intro. Because I didn't find anything much of interest for this particular week of September in 1983, I went back to August 1983 for Script of the Bridge by The Chameleons (also known as Chameleons U.K.). Both AOTY and Discogs list this record's release date as merely "August 1983," but Wikipedia has a release date of "August 8, 1983." Either way, as of this posting, I can safely claim that Script of the Bridge recently hit the 40-year-old mark. 

Script of the Bridge was The Chameleons' debut album. Neither the album nor its singles charted in the US, which received only a truncated version of the album via MCA. However, this record is a critical darling and it definitely has fans, of which I am one. A retrospective review on AllMusic calls Script of the Bridge "a high-water mark of what can generally be called post-punk music." The swirling guitars and precise percussion hold the songs in what I can only call a lovely tension of pop leaning toward psychedelia. And Mark Burgess' vocals, dare I say, come across as a lighter version of  Ian Curtis. 

As far as I can tell, there were no official music videos, so instead of an embedded YouTube playlist, I have included a single video of the entire album (duration of 56:21). Don't worry, the video's description has the track listing and includes links to jump to individual tracks. Be certain to check out the promotional single, "Up the Down Escalator."

Flashback: Script of the Bridge (August 1983)

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Anyway, 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!

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2

Brilliant and every single possible synonym!!!!

I am practically speechless from this season.

AND the musical episode... who ever in their right mind thought there would be a musical Star Trek episode??? Not me!! BUT it may be one of my favorite episodes of any show ever that I have seen. It was perfection from start to finish, including the opening credits and closing credits... in fact make sure you always watch and listen to them for all the episodes ... they tie in more often than you would expect.

I adore each casting in this show and I am grateful for the love and care each actor has for their character. These are big character shoes to fill and they all do it wonderfully. I can't even call out one of over any other. They all bring their A games every time and it looks like they all get along in real life.

I will also just place a name here which to me is proof of how amazing this show is: Carol Kane!

I am also glad we happened to watch 2 episodes of Lower Decks before we launched into this second season. As there is an episode with a cross over... yup you heard me.. a crossover with an animated show. Again, the brilliance this took to pull this off was outstanding... err out of this world ;) I was grateful to understand the incoming characters by watching the 2 episodes, I am pretty sure I would not have enjoyed it as much without the background.

I do love all the mentions of other parts of Star Trek but I do have to ask Brainwise quite a few questions to keep up with it at times. I just don't have the mental capacity to recall my Star Trek watching history and catch all the tidbits but Brainwise is like a Star Trek Encyclopedia at times :) and I mean that in the most loving way. Also you don't necessarily miss anything if you don't know the history, it just adds a layer if you do know it.

I have to say if you aren't watching this show... get off your butts and then hold on to them while you watch one of the best series out there.

4 paws and a tail (or is that contrail)

Friday 80s Flashback for September 1, 2023

[SWORDFISHTROMBONES] -- Recorded during the previous month, Swordfishtrombones was released on September 1, 1983. This was the eighth studio album by singer/songwriter – and all around lyrical raconteur – Tom Waits. Now, some might find it generous to call Waits a singer, but that's just because his style of performance can be a bit tough to take. I will admit that he is more miss than hit for me, but when he hits, he makes an undeniable connection. This is due to his prowess not only as a songwriter, but also as a storyteller. 

And all of Waits' talents are on display here. 

Swordfishtrombones saw Waits move to embrace more abstract instrumentation and experimental rock touches. This was a marked departure from his prior, piano-based songwriting. On this album, Waits employs something more akin to soundscapes than arrangements, and those soundscapes featured low-pitched horns, bass instruments, and percussion. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic writes that this album's "...music can be primitive, moving to odd time signatures" with Waits alternately howling and wheezing "in his gravelly bass voice." Critics raved, and NME even ranked the album as the second best of 1983 [nme.com]. 

The album's lone single, the dirglike but not not necessarily dour "In The Neighborhood," did not chart, but it did receive some retroactive accolades. And it did rate an official music video. And while Swordfishtrombones wasn't exactly a hit album – it peaked at #62 on the UK Albums Chart and a lowly #167 on the US Billboard 200 – it is the official album for driving down dark roads en route to the swankiest of dive bars. OK, I made that up, but it seems like it could be a real thing. 

Take a trip through Swordfishtrombones and let me know where it takes you.

Flashback: Swordfishtrombones (September 1, 1983)

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Well, 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!