So the other day I was listening to one of my favorite groups from the 80s, and a friend of mine who was visiting got this really weird look on his face. He then had the gall to say, "You really like this junk?" After tossing said friend off my third floor balcony, I began to think about the rest of my 80s music and wondered if it really is junk, or proof positive that I have a good taste for music. So I thought I would share with you some of what's in my musical collection from that decade and let you be the judge.
The Go-Go's
The group I was listening to right before I threw my friend off my balcony was the 80s girl group The Go-Go's. I fell in love with them from the moment I heard the song We Got The Beat. I immediately bought the record and played that song non-stop for months. It was the song that finally brought me out of my Country phase from the 70s (don't ask). I own all of their original (three) albums on record. One of them I have already converted to CD, and one of these days I will conver the other two albums to CDs as well.
The video above is the music video to my all-time favorite song by them, Head Over Heals.
The J. Geils Band
About the same time I found The Go-Go's, I also found the album Freeze Frame by The J. Geils Band. This album is the one that most of my friends are most suprised to find out that I own. Admittedly, it is one of the most guilty-pleasure albums in my collection, especially considering how much I like the two songs that were released as sings (Centerfold and Freeze Frame). It is also the only album of the group that I own (never really liked any of the other material they released)
The video above of the title single Freeze Frame is, in my opinion, one of the most creative videos ever made.
Michael Jackson
For an album that has been certified by the RIAA as having sold more than 27 million copies in the United States (more than 55 million copies world-wide by the Guiness World Records), no one seems willing to admit that they own it. But that's okay, because I will admit that I have owned it since the single, Beat It, was released. It is the only album I ever owned where I had to frequently go steal it back from my mom in order to listen to it (her favorites were Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)). No matter what your thoughts of Michael are these days, you can hardly argue with the notion that this is one of the best albums of all-time by any artist.
The video above is of the title single Thriller, which single handily made MTV a household name.
Footloose
I bought this movie soundtrack the same day I saw the movie (which I own as well). One of the best movies of the 80s spawned one of the best soundtracks of the 80s. I played this tape so much at the time that I've had to buy another copy to replace it with (and even another copy recently to replace that one, but this time on CD). In addition to the title song, my other favorites of this album are Almost Paradise and I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man).
The video above is the title music video Footloose, which contained scenese from the movie.
New Kids on the Block
One night in either '88 or '89, I was watching TV one night when I couldn't sleep and happened to come across the program Showtime At The Apollo. It was amateur night, and a group of kids came out on the stage to an almost immediate chorus of boos from the audience. But as the kids started singing, the crowd quickly came around and started cheering them on. That group was New Kids on the Block and the song was You Got It (The Right Stuff). I loved the song and the Hangin' Tough album so much, I bought the Hangin' Tough Live video of one of their concert performances. I still own that video to this day.
The video above is my favorite song of theirs, the one that caught my ears in the first place, You Got It (The Right Stuff).
Now you know what kind of music I liked and listened to during the 80s. Everything listed above is still in my music collection, and with except for those albums that are still on vinyl, I still listen to all of them from time to time.
So, tell me what you think of my 80s music. Do you agree with what I like? Or do I throw you off my third-story balcony as well? Let me know.
Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Birmingham, Alabama
# posted by Alan @ 3:12 PM
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