MFD Not-So-Random Five #8

In which I select five songs from 1976-1985 based on an arbitrary theme. (Not to be confused with this blog's Random Five feature, a different exercise in arbitrariness). Today's theme, for the "dog days of summer:" songs that have the word "dog" in their title.

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1. "Do the Dog" by The Specials (1979, 2 Tone)
   A ska cover of Rufus Thomas' 1963 single "The Dog" which is more like a complete deconstruction of the song than a cover. But I still dig it.
   


2. "Dog Eat Dog" by Adam and the Ants (1980, Epic)
   The first Adam and the Ants tune I ever heard was "Killer in the Home." It appeared on a 1981 Epic sampler cassette titled Exposed. I was intrigued. Then "Dog Eat Dog" came up on the second side of the tape and I was hooked. Purchase of the Kings of the Wild Frontier album quickly followed, and I stayed with Adam Ant until he teamed up with Phil Collins, then I quickly lost interest. But Kings of the Wild Frontier is one of my favorite albums of 1980 (even though I didn't hear it until later) and "Dog Eat Dog" is side 1, track 1 of that album.
   
   
   


3. "Dog and Butterfly" by Heart  (1979, Portrait)
   When I was a kid, I thought this was an Olivia Newton-John tune (I never claimed I was a smart kid, just a smart ass). But Ann Wilson sure brings it with these vocals, don't she? The star of this show, however, is the laid back folkish songwriting and subtle arrangement. The song barely cracked the Top 40, peaking at #34, which is a damn shame. Of course, Top 40 at that time was mainly disco and country crossover, so there really wasn't room for a folk ballad, no matter how beautiful it was. (note: I just checked out the Hot 100 chart of March 31, 1979 and that's a helluva chart. Maybe that explains why "Dog and Butterfly" didn't get any higher: too much competition. Or maybe this song just lulled me into a nostalgic 7th grade daze.)


4. "Dogs" by The Judy's (1980, Wasted Talent)
   The Judy's were a local band out of Pearland, Texas, just south of Houston. The trio would end up as opening acts for groups like Talking Heads and The B-52's (oddly enough, a then-unknown R.E.M. opened for The Judy's in Austin in 1981). They became a regional favorite, then me and my high school friends fell in love with them in the summer of 1982 with their album Washarama. "Dogs" comes from the EP released prior to Washarama, The Wonderful World of Appliances. Sung from the perspective of David Berkowitz, this song is an odd exploration of The Son of Sam. Far from my favorite tune by the band, it's creepy and catchy at the same time.
   


5. "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton (1982, Capitol)
   When you read this set's theme, you probably guessed I'd include this song by Dr. Funkenstein. "Bow-wow-wow-yippee-yo-yippee-yay!" may be some of my favorite '80s lyrics. Amazingly, this 1982 single never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 (it "bubbled under" at 101, but it topped the R&B chart and peaked at #38 Disco). I didn't love this as much in the early '80s as I should have. Now a classic, being widely sampled in hip-hop music for the last 35+ years.