Bookended by Cats: September 2025

Friday, September 26, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for September 26, 2025

[Tim is 40] -- It's no secret that The Replacements (or, simply, The 'Mats, short for "The Placemats," to their fans) are probably my favorite in the category of what I refer to as the "sloppy" American rock & roll bands. According to drummer Chris Mars, the band's name reflected their sense of a secondary status: "Like maybe the main act doesn't show, and instead the crowd has to settle for an earful of us dirtbags" [Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. 2001. p. 199]. Sporting a combination of the arena blues-rock and post-punk, The 'Mats were never commercially successful, but they did receive critical accolades and have been cited as a major influence for many bands.

And this month, their fourth studio LP, Tim, turns 40 years old.

True to form, Tim received critical acclaim but middling success. So, while the album did chart on the Billboard Top 200, peaking at #183, two singles – "Bastards of Young" and "Kiss Me on the Bus" – made no such inroads. But rather than languish on the dust heap of history, Tim has been included on several best of the 1980s lists [Pitchfork, Slant, Rolling Stone, Pop Matters, and Alternative Press], albeit retrospectively, of course.

My favorite tracks are, in no particular order: "Hold My Life", "Kiss Me on the Bus", "Waitress in the Sky", "Bastards of Young" (their only track to have an official-ish video), "Left of the Dial" (an ode to college radio), and "Little Mascara". Oh, Hel, I love the entire album, really.

In 2023, Rhino reissued the album as Tim: Let It Bleed Edition. This five-disc set (four CDs and an LP) includes a new mix, alternate takes, demos, liner notes, and so much more. And, yes, I ordered a copy right after I read the news of this release (September 23, 2023, between 10 and 11pm Eastern).

Flashback: Tim (September 18, 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!

Friday, September 19, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for September 19, 2025

[The Back 40] -- The first-ever Farm Aid concert made history on Sunday, September 22, 1985. That was 40 years ago. Since then, the nonprofit organization has put in Nearly 40 Years of Action for Family Farmers. And there will be a new concert, Farm Aid 40, on September 20, 2025, to continue the work and celebrate the past 40 years. In fact, you can watch a livestream of the anniversary concert on YouTube starting at 3:15pm CST here.

Amazing that it is still rolling, 40 years on.

Back in September of 1985, Willie Nelson and friends took inspiration from Live Aid and organized Farm Aid as a music festival to raise money specifically for American farmers. According to the website, the organization's mission "is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America." It's likely they thought that one concert – held at Memorial Stadium, University of Illinois, in Champaign, Illinois – would suffice. It did not. And, so, Farm Aid continues its efforts and holds an annual festival (don't forget to check out the Farm Aid 40 Livestream).

But what about that first concert, huh?

Well, that one featured just over 60 artists, according to the Concert Archives website. There are plenty of playlists and separate videos of the various Farm Aid sets. The embedded video below is supposed to be the full concert, and it is over 4 hours long. And cross-referencing the performances against set lists of available DVDs (like this one), seem to match up. So, if you want to revisit a huge concert featuring acts like Bon Jovi, X, Bob Dylan, Alabama, Brian Setzer, Joni Mitchell, John Mellencamp, Bonnie Raitt, and more, click the play link on the following video.

And support your local farmers!

Flashback: Farm Aid - September 22, 1985

See you in seven!

Friday, September 12, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for September 12, 2025

[Flip Your Alibi Knee Deep in Arrest] -- I'm featuring a total of four albums on this second Friday of September, 2025. That's a two-fer of a two-fer, right? Or maybe a double two-fer? Anyway, all four of these albums are from 1985, so they turned 40 years old this year.

Flip Your Wig – On September 1, 1985, Hüsker Dü released their fourth studio album, Flip Your Wig. I did not purchase my vinyl copy of Flip Your Wig until 1986, but I did experience the record's one and only single, "Makes No Sense At All", back in 1985 as my introduction to this band. The B-side for this single was a cover of "Love Is All Around", the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Music videos were made for both songs, and I caught the one for "Makes No Sense At All" one late night while watching MTV. I never saw the second video until years later, though I do have a mini-CD of the single and B-side. You can now see the videos for "Makes No Sense At All" / "Love Is All Around" back to back. "Makes No Sense At All" reached #2 on the UK Indie Chart, while the album Flip Your Wig peaked at #1 on the UK Indie Album Chart. This wasn't stellar success, but it showed that higher quality production and an emphasis on more melodic songs could broaden the band's audience for their music. It remains one of my fave records from this year.

Alibi – In the 80s, Vandenberg was a Dutch band striving for international success. Named for founder and guitarist Ad "Adje" van den Berg (a.k.a. Adrian Vandenberg), Vandenberg was active from 1981 to 1987. Depending on the source, this band released their third studio album, Alibi, on September 6, 1985, or before the end of August 1985. So, it is 40 years old by now! Alibi was Vandenberg's final studio album until the band reunited in 2020. And it peaked at #18 ... on the Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) chart. The album's two singles – "Once in a Lifetime" and "How Long" – were both ballads, and they may have done well in the band's home country, but they did not chart here in the states. If I recall correctly, I only have their first three albums because I did much of my habit to search for albums in cut-out bins. Oh, and the title track from this record definitely made an appearance on my old mix tapes.

You're Under Arrest – This Miles Davis album was released sometime between April and early September of 1985, 40 years ago. Now, Miles has an extensive catalog, particularly as a solo or lead artist, so I'm not certain how to number this album among his releases. I've counted at least 50 albums prior to You're Under Arrest, all released between 1951 and 1984. Anyway, this album is a collection of pop covers (including Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and Michael Jackson's "Human Nature"), and original material, with both categories leaning toward the pop end of the jazz spectrum. The covers also include a spirited recording of D-Train's "Something's on Your Mind", and the originals include a John Scofield composition, the title track, "You're Under Arrest" (sandwiched in this July 1985 clip of a Miles Davis Septet performance). Both of those pieces are highlights on this album. So, while this record is not exactly a milestone recording, Miles Davis' playing is still pretty strong.

Knee Deep in the Hoopla – Jefferson Starship had all but crashed and burned in the wake of their 1984 album, Nuclear Furniture. After dealing with a loss of personnel and a lawsuit, singer Grace Slick and manager Bill Thompson took up the new name of Starship. Now a streamlined quintet, the band changed their musical direction and went into the recording studio with Peter Wolf on production duties. On September 12, 1985, they released their debut album, Knee Deep in the Hoopla. Their first single, the inescapable "We Built This City", topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well as charts around the globe. Their second single, the ballad "Sara", was also a huge hit. Knee Deep in the Hoopla peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200, and was an immense commercial success. Some critics lamented the end of the Jefferson Airplane/Starship eras, while others recognized Starship for the pop juggernaut they were, at least through the end of the 1980s.

That's enough words. Let's get to the music. 🎶

Flashback #1: Flip Your Wig (September 1, 1985)

Flashback #2: Alibi (September 6, 1985)

Flashback #3: You're Under Arrest (September, 1985)

Flashback #4: Knee Deep in the Hoopla (September 10, 1985)

See you in seven!

Friday, September 5, 2025

Friday 80s Flashback for September 5, 2025

[Happy 15th Flashbackiversary!] -- I started posting the Friday 80s Flashback on September 3, 2010. So, this week marks my 15 year Flashbackiversary!

To celebrate, let's turn back the clock -- er, calendar -- 15 years and revisit that very first flashback, which appeared on Prophet or Madman. I'm struck by the sparsity and simplicity of my initial foray into weekly pop-culture ruminations. In fact, that very first flashback has no commentary whatsoever! There isn't even a theme! The weekly theme didn't become part and parcel of the flashback until the fourth entry, on September 24, 2010 (a two-fer: Angry Edition and Uplifting Edition). Sample lyrics first appeared in the November 5, 2010, flashback (Politics Schmolotics). On December 10, 2010, we saw my first attempt at incorporating a header image with the Flashback (Winter Holidays: Week 2). Then, on 6/24/2016, I moved the weekly Flashbacks to its current home, right here on Bookended by Cats.

The rest of this post more or less shares the text and videos from my 9/3/2010 Flashback, slightly updated to correct for any missing files or videos.

Facebook has made me a lazy blogger. Case in point: For several months now, I have been posting video links as "Friday 80s Flashbacks" ... but only on my Facebook page. I think it is high time I share those gems here as well, don't you?

Let's get started!

Flashback #1: I'm not walking on sunshine just yet, but you might be after checking out the bouncy "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina & The Waves.

Flashback #2: I love when 80s bands covered hits from the previous decade. Love & Rockets' take on "Ball of Confusion" was pitch-perfect for its time and it should have been even more of an anthem, reaching out well beyond the college radio crowd.

Flashback #3: Almost every word that Alison Moyet sings is true. And when she sang "We all need a love resurrection" in 1984, it's possible that she sang the greatest truth of her entire career in less than four minutes. (Note: The video I embedded in 2010 was no longer available. So, this post includes a replacement that was uploaded in 2017).

Even when flashing back to a previous flashback, the rule of three applies. It's hard to believe we've been getting together once a week for 15 years now. Hopefully, we can continue for some more years to come. There's plenty of great 80s music to keep us busy, I know that! 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!