MFD Random Five #52

In which I shuffle through some music files and listen to the first five songs from the years 1976-85 that randomly pop up.

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1. "Alone-6 AM" by George Duke (1979, Epic)
   A brief piano interlude from the classic A Brazilian Love Affair album. Sounds like a pianist messing around on a piano at 6 AM after a long night of recording, then there's about 10 seconds of upbeat stuff before someone shuts the tape turns off.


2. "Puppet Life" by Punishment of Luxury (1978, Small Wonder)
   From the 1-2-3-4: Punk & New Wave 1976-1979 box set, this odd tune is a cross between punk, Franz Ferdinand (the aughts band, not the Austrian archduke), and Karl King's "Barnum & Bailey's Favorite." I find it to be fascinating, just not very good.


3. "Marsha's Car" by David Bean (1983, Wasted Talent)
   David Bean is the singer/songwriter/leader of The Judy's, a local favorite from the Houston area when I was in high school and college. This was the lead song from his solo EP, Modomusic. Bean's voice is an acquired taste, but this thing is 4 minutes of pop perfection. The 7-song mini-album was available in three different colors - yellow, blue and pink. I opted for blue.
   
   

   

   from the MFD archives

   In the mid-1990's when e-mail was a newfangled thing to me, I wrote a fanboy email to David Bean, who had become a science teacher by that time, I believe. Turns out that the email address belonged to David's father, also named David. The elder Bean was quite kind and gracious in his response and didn't seem to mind responding to such emails, which had become a regular occurrence in his life at that time.


4. "The Rowe" by Thompson Twins (1982, T Records)
   Sounding more like Talking Heads wannabes than later pop-styled Thompson Twins, this is a 2 chord album cut that holds your attention for about 3½ minutes, so it's a shame that the track is 6½ minutes long.


5. "She Believes In Me" by Kenny Rogers (1979, United Artists)
   This song was huge in my little world, ca. 7th grade. In an earlier post on this blog, I wrote: "This reminds me a little of Bread's 'Lost Without Your Love' but not enough to distract from its soft rock crossover goodness. This topped both the country and AC charts while peaking at #5 in the Top 40." Rogers once stated that he looked for ballads "that say what every man wants to say and what every woman wants to hear." Check and check.
   
   KR crossover songs from 1979-80 always remind me of a girl named Melinda, until we get to "Lady" which reminds me of Danette. No, these ladies weren't my girlfriends, but not for lack of trying on my part. More on my geekiness around that time here.