In which I click the shuffle icon on the iTunes app and listen to the first five songs that pop up from the years 1976-85.
- "The Kick of Love" by Nick Heyward (1983, Arista)
Considering the amount of Heyward tunes in my library, it's surprising this one hasn't come up before. The song begins and ends with jazz breaks which Heyward claims is his favorite memory of making the North of a Miracle album: "seeing the look on my father's face as his heroes played jazz on 'The Kick of Love.'" Great melody, tasty horn parts, acoustic guitar solo, driving chorus, I could gush for a while. A fantastic song but it's not even in the top half of songs on the album. - "A Go Talk (Tappy Luppy Dub)" by The English Beat (1982, I.R.S.)
The extended mix of "Pato and Roger A Go Talk" from Special Beat Service. As the title suggests, there's lots of ranking over a heavy reggae beat from Pato (Banton) and (Ranking) Roger. I prefer the album mix as this one starts and stops a few too many times, but like the Heyward album above, I can easily listen to Special Beat Service all the way through then hit the repeat button. In fact, it placed at #7 on my list of the Top 82 Albums of 1982. (Below: your humble blogger in the mid-'80s wearing his favorite English Beat tee with the sleeves carefully cut off)
- "Est-ce que c'est Chic?" by Chic (1977, Atlantic)
If my two years of barely skating through high school French is any help, I think that title translates to "Is it Chic?" A track that proves even Chic album filler is fantastic and danceable. Love the Bernard Edwards bass line, but could use a little more of Nile Rodgers' immediately identifiable guitar work. Bonus points for vibraphone throughout. - "Radio Silence (Guitar Version)" by Thomas Dolby (1982, EMI)
My friend Scott and I each purchased LPs of The Golden Age of Wireless when we were in high school. However, they were different releases with different songs. Most notably, we each owned a different version of the "Radio Silence" (he had the "guitar version," I didn't), so we would needlessly argue about which was the better version. I said my version was superior, but I actually prefer the guitar version, mainly because of the spoken lyric about 3 minutes in: "Trytothinkofnothing. Trytothinkofnothing. Trytothinkofnothing..." by Lene Lovich. Oh! Do I like the song? Heck, I love the whole album. In fact, it placed at #5 on my list of the Top 82 Albums of 1982, and I selected "Radio Silence" as the second best cut on the thing. - "#3 (In the Corn Belt)" by Dinosaur L (1981, Sleeping Bag Records)
As of yet, I'm not sure I fully understand the No Wave experimental disco of Dinosaur L (Arthur Russell), but I'm enjoying the journey. Love the D.I.Y. ethos. If club names like The Kitchen or Paradise Garage mean anything to you, you'll like this. In 1981, however, 15 year old Mark would have run away from this sort of thing.
