Weaponize Cuteness (Giant Days #25)

Bobbie: "You can't weaponize cuteness."

Susan: "Watch me."

Giant Days #25

Boom! Studios 

April 5, 2017

Friday 80s Flashback for April 7, 2017

[April 7, 1984] -- Do you remember what you were doing this week in 1984? I know I was still in high school, but I have no specifics. I do, however, recall the tunes in this week's Flashback. Today we're revisiting the three tracks that topped the Billboard Hot 100 on April 7, 1984. We have two soundtrack songs, one of which is a ballad, and a song about paranoia. Man, and wait till you see how prescient that song turned out. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. So, while I take a moment to sort myself, you click the jump so you can read and hear more after the break. 

Friday 80s Flashback on a Saturday for April 1, 2017

[April Fools'] -- April 1. The 32nd of March. April Fools' (or All Fools) Day. Yes, we have come to that annual observance of mirth and (hopefully minimally destructive and non-lethal) mayhem. You know: The day of reckoning (or, day of pranks and hoaxes). Well, rather than prank you, dear 80s-philes, I shall take pity on you and merely deliver an appropriately "foolish" set of 80s tunes. With an entire decade of artists who often looked the part of fools in addition to acting the role, I have many options. However, rather than looking to the Pucks and jesters who ruled (or attempted to rule) the charts, I chose to narrow my focus to their songs, specifically songs with some form of "fool" in the title. 

What foolishly delightful selections do I have for you this week? Read and hear more after the jump.

Friday 80s Flashback for March 17, 2017

[Human's Lib is 33!] -- Howard Jones' debut album, Human's Lib (1984), was the first compact disc I ever purchased. In fact, I purchased it before I even owned a CD player. You see, I was saving up for the player, and I just wanted to ensure that I had something on hand when I finally connected it to my stereo system. Anyway, Human's Lib was released in the UK on March 17, 1984, and entered the UK Album Charts in the #1 spot. It hit the US in June of that same year. Human's Lib spent a total of 57 weeks on the UK charts and has been certified 2× Platinum. It also went Gold in many European countries and the US. All four singles from this album reached the UK top 20, the first two of which even reached the US top 50. None of that is surprising as this album is so full of 80s pop goodness that just about every track could be considered a true gem. But ... I can choose only three to share with you this week. So which tunes made the cut this week? Read and hear more after the jump.

Friday 80s Flashback for March 10, 2017

[30 Years of The Joshua Tree] -- U2's fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree, was released on March 9, 1987. As you might have gleaned from my Flashback's theme, that record is 30 years old this week! I was in my freshman year at Penn State when this record landed. Before college, I knew all the songs on The Unforgettable Fire (1984), the only U2 record I owned, and the singles off War (1983). But that was it. I had about a four year gap in my U2 knowledge. But a guy down the hall in my dormitory (Holmes Hall) was a huge fan of U2, and his record collection introduced me to the rest of this band's history. Not only that, his enthusiasm for U2 was contagious. So, when The Joshua Tree was announced (by posters and flyers as this was pre-Internet), we began a countdown and waited for its release. He bought a copy on the day the record dropped. We took it back to his room and listened to it, start to finish, twice. Right then, we knew this record was going to propel U2 to the next level of stardom. Of the six singles -- six! -- released from this record, only two failed to chart. Of the charting songs, two peaked at #1, one peaked at #13, and one squeaked into the the #44 slot, all of which on the Billboard Hot 100. And the accolades don't end there. Readers made The Joshua Tree #1 in Rolling Stone's annual Music Awards poll. Critics made it Rolling Stone's #2 album of the year. And it scored two Grammy Awards: (1) Album of the Year and (2) Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. For this week's Flashback, lets look at some tracks that don't usually get radio play, but probably should. Read and hear more after the jump.

Friday 80s Flashback for February 24, 2017

[Urban Dance Squad] -- For the end of February, we're going to revisit an album that came out in the final year of our favorite decade. Mental Floss for the Globe was the debut album by Urban Dance Squad, a rap rock band founded in Utrecht, Netherlands, in 1986. They recorded their debut in the middle of 1989 and released it eight months later in March of 1990. The album climbed to #54 on the Billboard 200 album chart, driven by their popular hit, "Deeper Shade of Soul," and a tour with Living Colour. I saw the Penn State show, which took place shortly after Desert Shield became Desert Storm. Urban Dance Squad was the opener, and I was fascinated with the lead singer's use of an old WWII field phone as a microphone. The three tracks for this week show a certain genius for melding rock, rap, soul, metal, etc. You can read and hear more about them after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for February 17, 2017

[A Classic Case] -- I'm doing something a bit different for the Flashback this weekend. I'm featuring an album of music from the 70s ... that was re-recorded and released in the 80s ... with the backing of a symphony orchestra. I'll bet you're intrigued now, right? Well, the band in question is Jethro Tull. In 1984, the Tull lineup of Ian Anderson (flute, vocals), Martin Barre (electric guitar), Dave Pegg (bass), Peter-John Vettese (keyboards), and Dave Burgess (drums) teamed with the London Symphony Orchestra. And you can read and hear more about this project after the break.