Friday 80s Flashback for October 21, 2016

[Shadowfax Dreams] -- I thought I'd go in a slightly different direction with this week's flashback. The band Shadowfax formed in the 70s and took their name from Gandalf's horse in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. They were active until 1995 and disbanded after their bandleader died. Shadowfax didn't exactly burn up the charts or dance halls, but they did win a Grammy in 1989. You see, they were a new age band, but they were considered the loudest band in the sleepy stable of Windham Hill artists. I don't have a citation for that statement; I think I heard it on a radio show. Anyway, by the 80s, Shadowfax was filed under the category of World Music -- a description used as a marketing tool to push non-Western traditional music. There is no one definition for World Music. And, really, is there any music made on this planet that isn't world music? But, if I'm not too mistaken, World Music came to be categorized by its use of percussion and seemingly exotic instruments. So, to give you a taste of the band, I want to focus on their fourth studio album, The Dreams of Children (1984). With one exception in 1989, Shadowfax never released singles. So, I can pretty much choose any track from this record. And I'm picking my favorites. Check them out after the break.

Short Take: Green Valley #1

The unassuming cover image for Green Valley #1

Green Valley #1 (Image Comics) came out on 10/5/2016. I purchased a copy that day, but didn't read it until this weekend. And all I can say about it is that I had no idea I needed this series, but I do.

Friday 80s Flashback for October 14, 2016

[Trouble Boys] -- Last week Sound Opinions had author Bob Mehr on their show to talk about his latest book, Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements (March 2016, Da Capo Press). As I've written previously, The Replacements (or, simply, The 'Mats to their fans) are probably my favorite of what I call 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. That is likely what made lead singer and primary songwriter, Paul Westerberg, claim the band was perpetually "10 years behind and 5 years ahead."

For this post, I've chosen a few tunes from their 12+ year career. Before you check out my selections, you might want to visit the Sound Opinions episode with Bob Mehr. Or read a review of Trouble Boys. But if you're ready for my playlist, you can read and hear more after the break.  

Friday 80s Flashback for October 7, 2016

[Critical Beatdown] -- I don't know much about hip hop, but I know what I like. Or, at least, I know what makes me tap my foot and nod my head to a beat(down). And, honestly, that's about what passes for dancing -- or replaces dancing -- in my book. Anyway, speaking of beatdowns, this week in 1988 (October 4 to be precise) saw the release of Ultramagnetic MCs' debut album, Critical Beatdown. You can be forgiven if you've never heard of Ultramagnetic MCs, which is likely the case if you're only a casual consumer of rap. I don't recall how I heard of them. My guess is someone introduced me this particular album. Or a single from it. So, some background for the uninitiated might be welcome here. Kool Keith, Ced Gee, and DJ Moe Love formed the Ultramagnetics in the Bronx in 1984. They recorded a demo of "Space Groove" that same year, but didn't release their first single, "To Give You Love," in 1986. On the strength of those recordings, and Kool Keith's personality, this crew picked up a record deal.

Their debut, Critical Beatdown, is the band's only 80s release (but they do have two releases in the 90s and a 2007 reunion album). Although their debut record did not chart very well, it has come to be highly regarded as a classic hip hop album. And these MCs were pioneers of sorts. According to All-Music, Ultramagnetic MC's can claim the following firsts: they were the first rap group to employ a sampler (the E-mu SP-1200) as an instrument, the first to feature extensive use of live instrumentation, and the first to feature a former psychiatric patient (the aforementioned Kool Keith) on the mic. For more info about this crew, you can visit The Unofficial Ultramagnetic MC's Website. And, for lyrical reference, you should check out the collection at genius.com.

Now, instead of my usual format of selecting three tracks for focus, I'm sharing a YouTube playlist that has all 15 tracks from the original release of Critical Beatdown.

Let's spin some wax, shall we? 

"Say what, Peter Piper? | To hell with childish rhymes! | Cause this jam is just movin' | The crowd is steady groovin' | To a supersonic pace"

---

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.

And if you are on Twitter, and feel so inclined, please +K my influence in Music on @klout.

I'll see you in seven!

Friday 80s Flashback for September 30, 2016

[An Under-Appreciated AOR Gem] -- I posted about Arc Angel three years ago on Prophet or Madman. Still, I still feel this particular album continues to go overlooked, so I'm digging up the previous post and re-sharing it here (with minor changes) on Bookended by Cats. Besides, cats love 80s hair metal, right? Right! So, here we go!

But before we get to the music, I feel the need to wax a little nostalgic about the nature of pre-digital music consumerism. I trust you'll bear with me.

When I was in high school, finding new music was much harder than it is today. Let me elaborate: discovering and then purchasing new music was much more difficult. OK, maybe that's still too broad a generalization or at least too much of a blanket statement. I have to assume that folks in larger metropolitan areas had easier access to new and different kinds of music because, generally speaking, they had more radio options. I, however, lived just west of ... well, let's just say the closest "metropolitan" area to my little hamlet was several hours away. We had but two radio stations -- one AM, and one FM. Oh, on particularly clear days you could maybe sniff out one or two other stations. And if you had cable TV, you could connect the cable to your stereo and access some city stations. However, no matter what radio options existed, when you tuned in, you were still subject to the whim of (usually) real human disc jockeys and -- to one extent or another -- their dedication to the record charts. Oh, there were a few renegades who played whatever the heck they wanted, but they tended to have very short tenures because their corporate overlords frowned upon such diversity.

Outside of radio, we had music magazines and -- later in my high school career -- MTV. Now, when you found out about something new and potentially interesting, you still had to get it in your hot little hands. For those of us that had limited access to decent record stores (yes, vinyl records and cassette tapes), there was mail order. I'm not talking about mail order record clubs (at least not exclusively). I'm talking about ads in the back of magazines (or as part of an interview) that directed you to send away for a particular artist's release. In the early days of MTV, particularly the late night music shows, a featured band would provide a P.O. Box you could contact and order the record that had been played. Such an order could take up to eight weeks to reach you -- talk about delayed gratification!

Back in that halcyon era of music, my good friend Joseph and I would regularly share our discoveries with each other. For example, I found Bronz on MTV's Headbangers Ball while he found Tokyo Blade (in a Metal Blade Records catalog, if I recall correctly). I don't remember which one of us found this week's featured Flashback artist, Arc Angel, but it might have been him. I base that on the fact that I have a TDK cassette of their debut, but no LP. Regardless, I'm glad I remember them. Arc Angel was essentially Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan along with a host of studio musicians. The concept was developed after Cannata and Soldan's previous band, Jasper Wrath, folded in 1976. They continued writing songs together and, in the early 80s, pitched a demo to CBS who signed the duo to a deal. Arc Angel's self-titled debut album was released in 1983. Although the album was a hit in Europe, and the band had a music video showcased on MTV (for their sole official music video), success in the US was not forthcoming. My guess is that it was buried in the wave of other releases ... and poor reviews from dismissive critics.

If you are a fan of AOR with great guitar licks, 80s synths, and just a hint of prog that prevents a full spiral into glam, then you owe it to yourself to get swept up by Arc Angel. (And if you're looking for them on download sites like eMusic, then you'll need to search under CANNATA). For a few selections from Arc Angel's debut, read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for September 16, 2016

Duran Duran trucks via @theverybestofthe80s on Instagram

[Fab Five to Notorious Three] -- Ever see something that reminds you of a great 80s band? Well, when I saw the above truck image, it put me in mind of Duran Duran's second greatest hits compilation, Greatest (1998), and the post I wrote about it in 2012. So, why not delve into it all over again this weekend?

Now, if you have this album, you will recognize this track listing (snagged from Wikipedia):

Do you notice anything about it? Well, if you haven't noticed it yet, you might when you read and hear more after the break.

They Crashed the Planes and Changed the Rules

[This my 2010 reworking of a Prophet or Madman blog entry I originally posted on September 11, 2008]

"They crashed the planes and changed the rules." -- GrooveLily, Live Through This (Are We There Yet?), Are We There Yet?. QMR, 2003

Nine years ago the world changed. You may take that as an overstatement, or, conversely, as overly simple. But wherever you lived at the time, a shift in perspective occurred. That shift was all the more dramatic and palpable if you were a U.S. citizen. I don't want to dwell on the attacks themselves. But I do want to take some time to recall what happened in the wake of that dreadful event. Forget -- if you can, even if for only for a moment -- just forget how you feel about the war in Iraq, conspiracy theories, and Republican versus Democrat (or any other "them versus us" political division). Recall, instead, the great communal sense that slowly seeped into our national fiber even as the weight of sorrow and shock seemed all too powerful and crushing. Remember neighbor comforting neighbor, even in cases where those neighbors had not known each other very well prior to that morning. Remember the outpouring of support and sympathy from around the world. And remember that shared conviction that, although we would never forget the tragedy, we would recover ... grow stronger ... and become ever more connected as a nation.

Are we there yet?