Bookended by Cats: May 2025

Friday, May 30, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for May 30, 2025

[Nervous Brothers] -- I'm ending the last week of May with another two-fer flashback. Both of these albums were released, as best I can tell, earlier in the month.

Nervous Night – Released on May 6, 1985, this was the sophomore record by Philadelphia's own 80s rock band, The Hooters. It was a highly successful album featuring three hit singles: "And We Danced", "Day by Day", and "All You Zombies". Those three tracks are among The Hooters' biggest and best-known hits, with "And We Danced" nearly cracking the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100. "Hanging on a Heartbeat" (a non single and one of my favorites on this record) and "Where Do The Children Go" also got significant airplay, especially on college radio; at least that was my experience while attending Penn State.

Brothers in Arms – On May 16, 1985, Dire Straits released their fifth studio LP, Brothers in Arms. It was the first CD album to break one million sales, and audiophiles still use its tracks for testing speakers and other hi-fi equipment [Source: whathifi.com]. I would, of course, be remiss if I did not mention "Money For Nothing," a #1 hit in the US, as well as top 40 around the world, plus a bonafide music video sensation. You're probably hearing Sting's cameo performance of "I want my, I want my, I want my MTV" in your head right now, aren't you? Oh, and two other singles – "So Far Away" and "Walk of Life" – also performed well on the charts. Brothers in Arms peaked at #1 on the US Billboard 200, and it topped the charts in a few other countries, too. While the album initially received not-so-favorable reviews, it went on to be one of Dire Straits' most successful records, and it has even appeared on several best albums lists, including Rolling Stones' 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

What are your favorite tracks from either of these records?

Flashback #1: Nervous Night (May 6, 1985)

Flashback #2: Brothers in Arms (May 16, 1985)

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.

See you in seven!

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

The New Gods #6 (2024): And Then There Is The Darkness

There may be some who dislike the change in art throughout THE NEW GODS #6, but I felt that the Racer's story in this issue was quite beautiful.

Image: The New Gods #6, bottom panel of digital page 9.

Text in the Racer's three word balloons:

The concerns of the living are for you no more. There are many perils between here and the end of our journey.
Unborn and unliving concepts roam the Waiturnum current. Ready to devour the real, the existing, to imbibe some of their essence -- to break through into the world outside.
And then there is the darkness.

This issue is, apparently, the first appearance of the Waiturnum, some kind of continuum or channel beyond the dimensions that living beings know.

Friday, May 23, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for May 23, 2025

[Low Wishes] -- I apologize for not posting a flashback last week. To make up for that omission, I'm sharing a two-fer flashback this week. In both cases, the album was the third studio release from its respective band. And, aside from the month/year combo, that's the end of any similarities between the two.

Low-Life – Released 40 years ago last week week (May 13, 1985), this record was the third studio album from New Order. Bernard Sumner (vocals and guitar), Peter Hook (bass), and Stephen Morris (drums) had formed New Order in the ashes of Joy Division. And Low-Life marked probably the highpoint of the band's blending of post-punk, synth, and dance pop. While the album peaked at only #94 on the Billboard 200, it was top 40 or better in several other countries, including hitting #7 on the UK Albums and #1 on the UK Independent Albums charts respectively. There were only two official singles from this album – "The Perfect Kiss" (the single was over 10min long while an edited version appears on the album) and "Sub-culture" – both of which charted well here in the US and across the pond. Low-Life received positive reviews in 1985, and it continues to receive critical praise, which you can read here.

7 Wishes – Dropping just before the summer of 1985 – 40 years ago this week on May 20, 1985 – 7 Wishes continued Night Ranger's hard-rocking path in the vein of 1982's Dawn Patrol and 1983's Midnight Madness. 7 Wishes peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200, and it went platinum. In addition to the three hit singles, this album included "Interstate Love Affair," a tune that appeared on the soundtrack for the 1984 film, Teachers. Speaking of Billboard Hot 100 hits, 7 Wishes included: "Sentimental Street" (#8), "Four in the Morning" (#19), and "Goodbye" (#17). Of course, with the latest Flashback date occurring one day after my late father's birthday, I had to find a way to include "Goodbye," the song that concluded my Flashback post for May 3, 2013, the day of his death.

Which album do you recall, or still listen to: Low-Life or 7 Wishes? Maybe both?

Flashback #1: Low-Life (May 13, 1985)

Flashback #2: 7 Wishes (May 20, 1985)

See you in seven!

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Tara Normal

"What an excellent day for an exorcism." So says this unnamed priest in a panel from TARA NORMAL #1 by Howie Noel (July 2013).

I've been going through my backlog of Comixology books on Kindle, and I just thought this panel was hilarious.

Image: A comic panel in which a priest is driving a car. We can see his face in profile, as well as his collar and his left arm. The driver's side window is also visible. The priest's word balloon says, "What an excellent day for an exorcism." Through his driver's side window, one can see it is raining, and read a welcome sign that he must be driving past-- "Welcome to St. Catherine of Siena Hospital for the Insane."

Friday, May 9, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for May 9, 2025

[I Want My DTV] -- I wanted to maintain my weekly exploration of releases that turn 40 years old this year, while also having it intersect with the fact that I'm currently in Disney World for my own anniversary. So, this week's Flashback celebrates the 1985 VHS release of DTV: Love Songs. DTV was kind of Disney's MTV. It premiered on May 5, 1984, and it featured music videos created by Walt Disney Productions. These videos took hit songs and set them to Disney animation. In April 1985, 40 years ago, Disney released a compilation of those videos in VHS format – DTV: Love Songs (1985) VHS.

The 1985 VHS collection had a playlist of 14 songs:

Juice Newton: Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me
The Temptations: Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
Elvis Presley: All Shook Up
The Marvellettes: Don't Mess with Bill
Stevie Wonder: My Cherie Amour
Gene Chandler: Duke of Earl
The Drifters: Some Kind of Wonderful
Mary Wells: Two Lovers
The Marvellettes: Too Many Fish in the Sea
Dee Clark: Raindrops
The Temptations: Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Odis Redding: Try a Little Tenderness
Yes: Owner of a Lonely Heart
Sister Sledge: We Are Family

As you can see, some of the songs were 1980s hits, while others were older. The embedded YouTube playlist is missing only "All Shook Up" by Elvis Presley due to a copyright claim (it's noted in the video description). If you're a completist, the entry for DTV Love Songs on Internet Archive has the full playlist.

Flashback: DTV: Love Songs (April 1985)

See you in seven!

Saturday, May 3, 2025

A Transformed Impression

I'm really not a Transformers fan. But I somehow had a digital copy of Transformers: Autocracy - Collected Edition in my Kindle library. I'm guessing I had a special deal or a discount code back in the days of Comixology. So, I read it. And I enjoyed it. The art is fantastic, and it is a well plotted origin story of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict. But more than fleshing out the background of the conflict, this 12-chapter run provides an origin story of Autobot leader Optimus Prime (from humble origins as Autobot officer Orion Pax).

It's also kind of inspiring in how Optimus Prime learns about oneness and freedom.

Here are pages 85 and 86 from the collected edition.

Transformers: Autocracy – Collected, p85
(Prime in the Undergrid, finding the Matrix)

Transformers: Autocracy – Collected, p86
("I am Optimus Prime, and I have a world to set free.")

Friday, May 2, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for May 2, 2025

[Be Your Bad Guy] -- I have not featured a two-fer flashback since the end of February, so I think I'm due. And even though we've just entered the month of May, I'm still not finished featuring April releases. So, both of this week's albums are from the end of April. We have a duo and a solo act this week. And both records were successful, though you might be more familiar with one than the other. I'm just guessing.

Be Yourself Tonight – Released 40 years ago this week (April 29, 1985), Be Yourself Tonight is Eurythmics' fourth studio album. It was their most commercially successful album. So, of the two albums featured this week, this is the one that most 80sphiles recall, at least when compared against this week's other album. That's my guess and I'm sticking with it. And I'm sticking with that guess because, in addition to that commercial success, Be Yourself Tonight is "one of the best rock/pop albums from the 1980s and one of the grandest, most creative albums delivered by the ever-appealing and innovative" duo known as Eurythmics [per Jose F. Promis on AllMusic]. This album was nominated for two Billboard Music Awards and the Brit Award for British Album of the Year. And two singles were nominated for Grammy Awards in 1986. Speaking of singles, there were a total of four released singles – "Would I Lie to You?", "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (a duet with Aretha Franklin) and "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)" – and three of the four did really well on the charts. In fact, I'll bet you're singing one of them, probably "Would I Lie to You?", in your head as you read this, right? Oh, and as I recall, "I Love You Like a Ball and Chain" was not a single, but it did get some airplay, and rightfully so.

Mr. Bad Guy – During a proposed break from band activities starting in 1983, Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury started dabbling in recording sessions. Or, perhaps, he did more than merely dabble, depending on how much free time there was as other Queen activities did pop up (The Works and The Works Tour in 1984, for example). Anyway, Mercury's recording sessions stretched from early 1983 through January 1985. After Mercury completed 11 tracks, all of which written solely by himself, he was ready to release his first solo studio album. So, after 15 years of fronting Queen, Freddie Mercury released Mr. Bad Guy. The UK release occurred 40 years ago this week – on April 29, 1985 – while the US release occurred about a week later, on May 7, 1985. As Mercury's voice is instantly recognizable, and he had been working with Queen for 15 years, some aspects of Queen's sound do slip through. Mercury also worked with synth-pop, dance music, and disco influences, making this a decidedly post-disco record (in my estimation, YMMV). And a good one at that. Mr. Bad Guy barely made it into the Billboard 200, peaking at #159. But it peaked at #6 on the UK Albums chart, and it also made it into the top 40 of several other countries. Mr. Bad Guy was by no means a chart-topper, and even the four singles had middling chart success. Still, I think it's always a pleasure to listen to a singular vocal talent like the late Freddy Mercury. Fave tracks of mine include "Let's Turn It On", "I Was Born to Love You", "Made In Heaven", "Living On My Own", and "Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow".

Did you have either Be Yourself Tonight or Mr. Bad Guy? Or both?

Flashback #1: Be Yourself Tonight (April 29, 1985)

Flashback #2: Mr. Bad Guy (April 29, 1985)

See you in seven!