Music ads from 1981

MFD Not-So-Random Five #13

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: cover songs

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1. "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" by Naked Eyes (1983, Virgin)
   Originally by Lou Johnson (1964). Synth-pop Bacharach? Count me in! This song ranks somewhere in my Top 10 list of favorite pop songs of the '80s.  I never tire of hearing it.  Back in '83, I bought a copy of the group's self-titled debut LP on the strength of this one song. Just listened to this cover version twice this morning.


2. "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow (1982, RCA)
   Originally by The Strangeloves (1965). You'd never know it, but this song only reached #62 on the singles charts. You can't get away from it now. I'll sometimes try to imagine what this tune would have sounded like if Boy George (Lieutenant Lush) had stayed in the group and done the vocals. I once ranked this cover as the 24th best single of 1982, so yeah, I like it. And I like candy when it's wrapped in a sweater.


3. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Devo (1977, Warner Bros.)
   Originally by The Rolling Stones (1965).  I love when cover versions are complete deconstructions of the original (see Isaac Hayes' "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," for example). This fits the bill perfectly. The anxiety and neuroses of the lyrics are finally given the proper, manic musical context. It's all tension, no release, then it's over. For more on how the cover came about, click here.


4. "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (1981, Sire)
   Originally by Gloria Jones (1964). I can't hear this song without thinking of my dear friend Scott. It was his absolute favorite tune of all-time, no question. He never cared much for the original nor did he want to hear this cover segue into "Where Did Our Love Go" so I adopted the same biases. For more on how the cover came about, click here.


5. "Dear Prudence" by Siouxsie And The Banshees (1983, Polydor)
   Originally by The Beatles (1968). I wasn't much of a Siouxsie fan until I heard this cover around the time it was released. That led to an enjoyable deep dive into her catalog. This cover is even dreamier and more psychedelic than the original and seems like it was written specifically for Siouxsie's voice. For very little on how the cover came about, click here.

Bubbling Under 1982 [Part 4 of 5]

Using information found in the above supplement, below is an annotated list of songs that didn't quite crack the Billboard Hot 100, provided with links in hopes of helping you find some vintage tunes that are new to you. Click on the title to hear the tune or see the video, click on the artist for a Wikipedia entry, and click on the album for the Discogs entry. In all, there were 105 tracks that "bubbled under" the Hot 100 in 1982, here's 21 of those.

Title	Artist	Album	BU	Rock	AC	RB	Dance	Country
It's Our Own Affair	Ray Parker, Jr.	The Other Woman	106			44
Brown Eyed Girl	Henry Paul Band	Anytime	105
Song on the Radio	Pinups	The Pinups	110
Sea of Heartbreak	Poco	Cowboys & Englishmen	109		35
Ghost Town	Poco	Ghost Town	108
Let Her Go	Point Blank	On a Roll	109
As	Jean-Luc Ponty	Mystical Adventures	108
Let's Work	Prince	Controversy	104			9	1
Keep This Heart in Mind	Bonnie Raitt	Green Light	104	39
Me and the Boys	Bonnie Raitt	Green Light	109
Yes It's You Lady	Smokey Robinson	Yes It's You Lady	107
My Old Piano	Diana Ross	Diana	109
Take a Chance with Me	Roxy Music	Avalon	104
Can't Get You Out of My Mind	Dan Seals	Harbinger	110
I Can Make You Feel Good	Shalamar	Friends	102			33
Wait for Me	Slave	Show Time	103			20	21
It's Alright	Gino Soccio	Face to Face	108				2
What	Soft Cell	Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing	101				31
Love Connection (Raise the Window Down)	Spinners	Can't Shake This Feelin'	107			68
Six Months in a Leaky Boat	Split Enz	Time and Tide	104
Black Coffee in Bed	Squeeze	Sweets from a Stranger	103	26

Vintage Music Pinbacks #11

Eleventh (and last?) in a series.

Buttons, badges, pinbacks - whatever you call 'em, I've got a shoebox full. Here's a few of my vintage music pinbacks from the '70s and '80s:

1.  2" Electric Light Orchestra, Discovery, 1979
2.  1.25" Pretenders, Learning to Crawl, 1984
3.  1.25" Genesis, Duke, 1980
4.  1" Men at Work, ca. 1982
5.  1.25" Joe Jackson, I'm the Man, 1979
6.  1" Soft Cell, Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing, 1982
7.  1.25" Depeche Mode, Some Great Reward, 1984
8.  1.25" The Cure, ca. 1985

Vintage Music Pinbacks #7

Seventh in a series.

Buttons, badges, pinbacks - whatever you call 'em, I've got a shoebox full. Here's a few of my vintage music pinbacks from the 1980s:

1.  1.25" The Police (pinback dated 1983)
2.  1.5" (pinback dated 1982)
3.  1.25" Men at Work, Business as Usual, 1982
4.  1" Roger C. Reale Band, 1981
5.  1" Soft Cell, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, 1981
6.  1.25" The Pretenders (pinback dated 1984)
7.  1.25" Joe Jackson, Night and Day, 1982
8.  1.25" Haircut 100, "Nobody's Fool" 1982