Friday 80s Flashback for December 29, 2023

[A Forty Year Syndrome] -- We've come to the final Flashback post of 2023. Over the past year, we've revisited albums that were released in 1983 and therefore turned 40 years old this year. I've tried my best to coordinate each week with a release date from 40 years ago. Sometimes that wasn't feasible, but in those cases I made due with a record that would have been forty by that particular date. There were plenty of albums released in 1983, but not all of them were ... memorable. Or, maybe it's that I didn't find certain records particularly memorable or noteworthy, and I get to make the selections, right? 

So, this week, to close out 2023, I'm bringing you an album that was released early in December 1983: Slade's eleventh studio album, The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome. Neither this album nor any of its singles charted in the US. But the album was successful across Europe, peaking in the top 20 of Austria, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. It also peaked at #49 and #2 in the UK Albums and UK Heavy Metal Albums charts respectively.

But, hold up, weren't "Run Runaway" and "My Oh MY" top 40 hits in the US? Well, yes. But not from The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome. You see, in their infinite wisdom, the record label released an additional version of The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome, repackaged for the USA and Canadian markets. That March 1984 album was titled Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply, and it switched out "Cocky Rock Boys (Rule O.K.)" and "Razzle Dazzle Man" from the 1983 release for "Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply" and "Can't Tame a Hurricane" (a song I quite like, by the way). And it was that 1984 album that successfully launched those singles onto the charts, enabling Slade to finally have their breakthrough in the states (outside of Quiet Riot covering their songs, that is). 

Anyway, whenever it was released, "My Oh My" is a great tune to close out the year:

We all need someone to talk to my oh my

We all need someone to talk to my oh my

Ya need a shoulder to cry on, call me I'll be standing by

We all need someone to talk to my oh my

... 

So let's all swing together my oh my

We can all swing together my oh my

You've got troubles on your own, no need to face them all alone

We can all swing together my oh my

So let's all pull together my oh my.

Flashback: The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome (December 3, 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!

Friday 80s Flashback for December 22, 2023

[Salvation O'Clock] -- The Three O'Clock was previously the band called The Salvation Army. And they had released a self-titled album in 1982, but as you might have guessed, they had some legal woes with that name. So, they changed their name to the "meaningless but suitably psychedelic the Three O'Clock." That makes Sixteen Tambourines the quartet's second studio album even though it is the first album released under this particular band name. Wikipedia cites the release date as October 1983, but AOTY has it as December 1983. Either way, it's another album that turned 40 years old this year. 

Along with the band's name change came a change in personnel. Only Louis Gutierrez (guitar) and Michael Quercio (vocals and bass) were part of the previous ensemble. They brought in a new drummer (Danny Benair) and added a keyboardist (Mike Mariano). The result? That depends on whom you ask. The album received mixed reviews, either being hailed or dismissed. Me? I'm a fan. I can't quite get enough of 1960s-era paisley in the 1980s. Your mileage, however, might vary. I mean, it's not like the album launched any hit singles or even charted. But I find it to be an enjoyable and bouncy listen. I particularly enjoy "Stupid Einstein," "And So We Run," "Fall to the Ground," and "In My Own Time." 

Give Sixteen Tambourines a whirl and let me know what you think. 

Flashback: Sixteen Tambourines (sometime between October and December 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!

Christmas Movies 2023 Part 1

Dashing Through The Snow - Disney +

Ludacris in a Christmas movie?? Yes, please. He is a joy in this role. I absolutely loved everything about what he brought to this role. He was a great Dad, wonderful social worker, and hilarious all around.

Madison Skye Validum, as the daughter Charlotte, was splendid and radiant. She just oozed happy and I would love to spend a day with her just to feel her joyous personality. She is an excellent actress too and brought everything needed to make her role believable and enjoyable.

Lil Red Howery was the incredible Nick, whose wardrobe was incredible. He was perfection in this role and think he got completely lost in the role as I had a hard time deciphering/rectifying who he was under the gorgeous robe.

I highly recommend this joyful movie that helps us all believe just little more in the goodness of this world and the magic we can find if we just look.

3 paws

Family Switch - Netflix

Jennifer Gardner and Ed Helms were hilarious and perfect in this movie. Emma Myers and Brady Noon were wonderful as their children in this movie. Except for one too over the top scene (and many might say there is more than just one), I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Light and heavy all at once. A clever switcheroo that seriously looked so much fun to film. I can't imagine how much laughing there must have been on the set.

And even though you can figure the story out, it doesn't detract from the fun and the laughter that will be found during the movie. There is also an excellent rendition of Santa Claus is Coming to Town!!

3 paws

Merry Little Batman - Amazon Prime

Cute, funny, clever, fun and perfect for any DC or Batman fan.

I especially loved the change in animation for part of the story. It was perfect for conveying what was happening and definitely made me watch even more intently. 

There are a few scenes that could have been shorter but overall it was a fun and very different Christmas show. 

2 paws

Friday 80s Flashback for December 15, 2023

[Not Christmas Balls] -- Is December a good time to release an album? Bigger artists with major labels might use the 4th quarter to take advantage of a retail spike that occurs during the holidays, especially if they have a song about the New Year, Christmas, etc. Of course the market is super saturated at the end of the year, more now than it ever was in the 1980s. So, a recording artist probably needs something with a holiday or end-of-the-year vibe to do well.

At least, that is the conventional music marketing wisdom. 

Enter German heavy metal band Accept. Into the bluster of the holiday season, they released their fifth studio album, Balls to the Wall. And, no, we're not talking about Christmas balls. The European release was 40 years ago last week – on December 5, 1983 – while the US release was delayed a month until January 1984. 

Balls to the Wall was Accept's biggest commercial success, continuing to drive down the road that their previous release, Restless and Wild, had opened. One of this album's achievements was being Accept's first album to chart in the US; it peaked at #74 on the Billboard 200. Another achievement as that of being notorious and the band's most sexually charged album [per the AllMusic review]. And then there was the gay metal "controversy," which likely fueled some popularity or at least generated additional PR for the record. I mean, look at the cover image and listen to "London Leatherboys." 

Guitarist Wolf Hoffmann downplayed the supposed controversy, later calling out Americans as overly uptight about sex and sexuality. But the best comment came from Accept's drummer, Stefan Kauffman: 

"It's a phenomenon that should be taken into consideration. Because it exists on a wide scale and should be demystified. In fact, this is a phenomenon of society that needs to be taken as such. For a long time gay people have been considered as sick or insane. And yet, it's time to respect these people, open our minds which are often closed." [1983, p. 9. Archives of Enfer Magazine (in French)]

Whether Accept was ... more accepting ... than others on the metal scene, or simply trying to be controversial for the sake of being controversial, their album is considered a classic of the heavy metal genre. And it is about as far as you can get from holiday songs and carols, if you need a break from that kind of thing. 

In addition to the single, check out "Fight It Back," "Head Over Heels," and, one of my faves, "Losing More Than You've Ever Had."

Flashback: Balls to the Wall (December 5, 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!

America’s Tallest Singing Christmas Tree

 Yes, the title is true and it is spectacular.

And these are all high school students from Mona Shores High School in Michigan. 

I first heard about it a few years ago on TV and put in the list of things I wanted to do. Then two years ago a comic con friend of ours posted about it and I had to know how she knew about. Crazily enough they live in the area and her husband works at the school. I told her that we wanted to visit to see the tree. 

Fast forward to earlier this year and we find out both her children would be part of the orchestra for the Tree. Right then and there we started making plans to visit and see the show. 

We arrived Thursday in Grand Rapids Michigan and then drove to Muskegon Michigan to check in across the street from the theater. 

Saturday we went to the 3pm show and had seats in the lower balcony. There are no words to describe how incredible the show is. They played and sang so many of my favorite songs and the ones I didn’t know are now favorites too. The kids put everything in to the show and we loved it so much we bought tickets to the 7pm show too. The seats this time were not together and we had a person in the last row of each section so now I want to see it from the orchestra seats I might have to go back for the 40th anniversary!!

They live streamed the 7pm show and we are told it might replay at Christmas. I hope so because I would love to see it again. 

If you ever find yourself in Muskegon Michigan the first weekend of December I highly recommend this show. 

4 paws and a tail with a jingle bell collar 

Friday 80s Flashback for December 8, 2023

[Demented Pop Cure] -- Forty years ago this week, The Cure released Japanese Whispers. It was their second compilation album, but their sixth album overall. Japanese Whispers consisted of three previously-released, standalone singles and the B-sides to those singles. All three singles – "Let's Go to Bed," "The Walk," and "The Love Cats" – were a 180° turn away from the darkness and gloom of The Cure's 1982 release, Pronography (misspelling intended). That was a gutsy move given that, despite the initial poor reviews, Pronography had been a commercial success; it was their most popular album up to that point. However, recording Pronography had been a terrible experience, all but bringing the band to a total collapse. 

Only Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst, The Cure's the two founding members, were involved in writing and recording Japanese Whispers. So, the switch to a brighter and more pop-friendly sound might have been a calculated move, and a necessary one for The Cure's collective health and longevity. It's not completely bright and poppy. I think both "Just One Kiss" and "La Ment" sound decidedly at a midpoint between the gloom of Pronography and the brightness of Japanese Whispers. And either one of them could have been a single, too.

In my mind, Japanese Whispers comes across as the love-child of synthpop and gothic rock. I mean that in the best possible way, if such a way is possible. This album feels like Smith and Tolhurst were experimenting with how to write pop songs, feeling their way from what The Cure had been to what it could become. So, of course, the results are kind of demented, but they work. And the tonal and lyrical shifts here set the band's direction for the next several albums. 

Flashback: Japanese Whispers (December 6, 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!

Friday 80s Flashback for December 1, 2023

[A 40-Year-Old Touch] -- It's the first of December, but November is hanging on a little bit longer. At least for this week's Flashback. Eurythmics released their third studio album, Touch, on November 26, 1983. That is per the listing at AOTY; Wikipedia has a release date of November 14, 1983. Either way, this record is 40 years old by now, and it's fair game for a Flashback!

By this point in their career, Eurythmics were an international success. And Touch just continued their critical and commercial success. All three singles – "Who's That Girl?," "Right by Your Side," and "Here Comes the Rain Again" – all reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. In the US, "Who's That Girl?" and "Right by Your Side" peaked within the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100, while "Here Comes the Rain Again" peaked at #4. "Here Comes the Rain Again" was probably helped by its cool and atmospheric music video which featured Lennox exploring a cliff and an abandoned cottage. All the singles are great, but I'm partial to "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)."

Touch has aged far more gracefully than other records of that decade. And it is still appreciated; it was twice listed in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time," first in 2003, and again in 2012. 

Flashback: Touch (Nov 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!