The songs of the summer

This morning when I logged on to WordPress, believe it or not, I did not expect to be inspired to do something different from my usual writing formula. Mostly because, as one writer has pointed out to me, there aren’t a lot of blogs dedicated to music. A fact that is both good and bad as it is always nice to know there is somebody else out there who is interested in the same thing you are. However, somebody in our awesome blogging universe not only touched on the topic of “the songs of the summer” they also hitched a ride in their mental Delorean and rode back to the summer of 1997. I remember that summer very well as it was the year I graduated high school. Their main focus was on Puff Daddy which was very justifiable. His influence was everywhere in hip/hop and popular music around that time. Although the songs I’ll Be Missing You and All About the Benjamins were tossed out there without a true winner being crowned, there is no doubt, regardless of how you look at it, that Puff Daddy owned that summer. If you trust my expertise and intuition on the topic of popular music, then trust the fact that Puff Daddy was the man.

When I think of the songs that defined the summers of the past for me, a few of them come to mind. Firstly, in my opinion, the ultimate song of the summer for me was Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me from the summer of 1988. To this day, when I think of this song, I think about how my friends and I had MTV’s programming figured out. Like clockwork, they would play the video every morning at approximately 10:10. I don’t know if that was truly on purpose, but it certainly seemed like it. For me, this was one of the more perfect songs of the summer. Loud, bombastic, catchy, and gives you the feeling of “ahh, it’s summertime and I am free”.

Another song from the summer of 1988 that comes to mind is Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns n’ Roses. At this point, Guns n’ Roses didn’t need to be crowned with “The song of the summer” title in order to burn up the charts. They were already on fire thanks to their incredible 1987 album Appetite For Destruction. Not only does this amazing song take back to those carefree summer days when I think about it, the album itself gives me that feeling as their music was everywhere during the late 80’s. Much like Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me, the personal pictures this song paints for me everytime I hear it is priceless. I even made this song my ringtone so that should say a lot about what kind of an impact it had on me.

Jumping ahead a few years, another memorable songs of the summer moment for me was the summer of 1998. Three songs really stick out to me. One of them stands on their own, but the other two are oddly linked to each other thanks to my audiophile nerd-like memory. As much as I wanted to focus on the latter aforementioned chart duel, I have to give a mention to K-Ci & Jojo’s All My Life. This was not only a beautiful song with a great arrangement, it also had some amazing vocals to go along with it. These guys had been around in the R&B world for a few years prior to this. They scored a big collaborative hit a few years earlier in 2Pac’s How Do You Want It (which is a great song!), but didn’t truly have a mainstream breakthrough until All My Life. This song was rightfully everywhere I went throughout that time period. To this day, i’m sure this is being played at weddings all over the place. This might have been the song of the summer for me if it weren’t for the chart duel between Monica & Brandy’s The Boy Is Mine and Shania Twain’s You’re Still The One. Although I was a big fan of both songs, I was particularly focused on seeing whether Shania’s song would finally make it to number one. Although Shania Twain had been around for a few years, I didn’t really know much about her until You’re Still The One burned up the charts that summer. I don’t even think I had much interest in country music until this song came out. That in itself is probably a good topic for another blog. Putting that aside, ultimately, The Boy Is Mine was so hot of a song that summer that it kept Shania out of the top spot. All three of these songs take me back to that summer of working in a minor league baseball stadium in Reading, PA, being off from college, and just enjoying the freedom, youth, and wonder of being a 19 year old kid/adult.

The other summer that really sticks out to me is the summer of 2003. Personally, a lot had happened between 1998 and 2003. I dropped out of college for awhile, tried out a lot of different potential career opportunities, 9/11 happened, tried out some more potential career opportunities, got sick of that and finally committed to focusing on finishing my degree. When the summer of 2003 rolled around, I was working overnight at a neighborhood Target store stocking shelves and sweating my butt off. During these hot summer nights, my bosses were always nice enough to put on one of the local pop stations while we worked. To this day, I’m not sure if this song was just THAT hot or if this was the beginning of the mega song overplay trend that has seemed to take off since that time, but Beyonce’s Crazy In Love was on virtually every half hour or so. You could not escape it. A truly great song, but I can’t listen to it to this day. I can still hear Jay Z shouting his enthusiastic “YES” in my nightmares. My life has been fairly busy since then so it might not be fair to say it is the most overplayed song of all-time, but I can say this was without a doubt the song of the summer for 2003. Honorable mention goes to songs like Get Busy by Sean Paul P.I.MP. by 50 Cent, Magic Stick by Lil Kim and 50 Cent, and Never Leave You by Lumidee. I am leaving some good ones out as this was a great summer for music, but when I go to my Apple Music account and want to take myself back to those sweaty, hardworking days during the 2nd phase of my college going experience, those are the songs that come to mind.

Although I could probably write a 100 paragraph blog about this topic (perhaps there will be a part 2 someday), I will instead refer you to an amazing songs of the summer top ten list from every year from 1958-2016. In there, especially during the era i’ve been alive, so many great songs pop up that bring back such good memories. Shakedown by Bob Seger reminds me of going to see Beverly Hills Cop at the movies, Alone by Heart reminds me of MTV playing it at a particular time everyday (much like Pour Some Sugar On Me), seeing the videos for TLC’s Waterfalls and Blues Traveler’s Run Around on MTV and VH1 constantly, I could go on and on. I think there is so much emphasis on what the song of the summer is these days because I think the summer is the one time of year when people are feeling their best. In most places, it is sunny and warm with lots to do and see. People experience more moments during these months. Although i like to think that music is always around to define the moments in our lives, the summer tends to bring back some of our best memories.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/513524/summer-songs-1985-present-top-10-tunes-each-summer-listen

Your Wildest Dreams by The Moody Blues

Not many videos capture the story and emotion of their songs better than Your Wildest Dreams and I Know You’re Out There Somewhere

Now here is an example of getting everything right. When I reflect on the music videos of the 80’s, this is the one video that might rank at number one if you asked me to do so. That is really saying something because there were a lot of good ones back then. They got it right on so many levels with this. It helps that the song is equally as amazing. It has a visual and narrative that I think most of us can relate to: a lost opportunity in love, regret, reflection on what if, nostalgia. It’s all wrapped into one nice gift compliments of a band who had already been around for about 20 years prior to this song’s release.

The video sets the story up so nicely. It starts with the adult version of the girl sitting in a room while watching the latest Moody Blues video. She starts reflecting on their younger days as a couple while the band is trying to hone their craft and become a success. Jealousy from other band members can be seen as they are clearly very in love and affectionate with each other. The band’s increasing success ultimately causes the relationship to fall apart and they carry on with their own lives. Justin Hayward, the Moody Blues lead singer who is “the guy” in this case, moves on nicely and has a very successful career with his band. The girlfriend on the other hand, winds up having a more safe and predictable life by marrying some guy who seems to be the complete opposite of Justin Hayward. She also has a few kids in the process. On one hand, for the most part, it seems like Justin Hayward is moving on with his life ok. However, as the video progresses, there are moments where he is living the rock n roll lifestyle and would appear to have it all. However, he looks lonely and has thoughts of giving his lost love a call. After reminiscing a bit, she also gives him a call. What they don’t know? The line was busy because they called each other at the same time. This reconnection would clearly be much easier today since we have all of the luxuries of a cell phone.

By the end of the video, the girl gets up the courage to go see a Moody Blues concert. They see each other and instantly lock eyes on each other and connect. However, as lucky as she was to get backstage, reality starts to set in for both of them as Justin Hayward is being mobbed for attention while his lost love stands their upset by the fact that things just aren’t as easy or as good as they once were. Life has completely changed. The good news is, there is a part 2 to this storyline. I Know Your Out There Somewhere is another amazing song they released (i’m guessing it was the follow up single too) and gives us a part 2 to this heart grabbing story. I won’t go into too much detail on it since I want to maintain my focus on Your Wildest Dreams, but it basically picks up where the first video leaves off. A lot of flashbacks, double takes, and digging within themselves to find the younger version of themselves are all echoed throughout the video leading up to the two of them finally meeting up. A happy ending and closure on the story is given. It all comes full circle.

Although the song and video for Your Wildest Dreams is clearly great, that is not, in my opinion, the only reason for it’s greatness. Sure, I get goosebumps galore everytime I hear the song. I connect with the visual they created. The video is very well directed. It even won a Billboard Music Video of the year award (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Wildest_Dreams). They even found younger actors who looked so similar to the older, modern day versions of the band and girlfriend. The presentation is perfect, but it’s more about what the song does to you beneath the surface that truly makes it great.

I think this song and the 2 part video story teaches a lot of important lessons. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Especially in friendships and relationships. People enter our life for a reason. People exit for a reason. It hurts when you lose somebody you love. It hurts when you still feel a bond with a friend, but they have changed to the point where they start to drift away. We all have our own path in life. The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” could be used to describe what is going on between the 2 characters in this video. Thanks to social media, we can find out a lot of the answers to the questions these 2 had during the eras this video takes place in. In some cases, possibly due to unforeseen circumstances, people do reconnect and everything works out. These are the stories hear about in the media. However, in a lot of cases, in my opinion, it’s just better to move forward and leave the past where it was. That is a scary proposition for a lot of people. That is understandable. Sometimes it’s much safer to keep your memories and fantasies locked away in a world of your own. Facing reality can be hard. I feel like this a sad lesson the two main characters learn by the end of the video.

When I started this blog, my goal was to write about songs/music videos that have impacted me for any particular reason. Even though this song was released during a time when I was far too young to appreciate it’s depth, I knew it was something special. As the years have passed, and I have reflected and evolved, one thing has remained the same: when I think about music videos from the 80’s, this is one of the first ones that comes to mind. It might be the excellent direction of the video, it may be the storytelling element of the song and video, it might be the fact that to this day it continues to affect me deeply. It may very well be all of those things. For me, that is what makes the song so great.

 

 

Walk On The Ocean by Toad The Wet Sprocket

I am proud to say I have a very open mind about the music I listen to. I started listening to popular music from a very young age and have kept up pretty well to this day. I feel like i’ve been able to live through and experience all of the best artists and songs. I’ve even found quite a few over the years that people have never heard of or don’t know at all. I am a very self assured person. I think I know what I like and what I don’t. However, one lesson I have learned is if you are an openminded person, your opinions can change.  One such example is with the band Toad The Wet Sprocket.

For many years, to me, a band like the Gin Blossoms and Toad The Wet Sprocket were the kind of bands you’d hear in the background, but didn’t take too seriously. When you had a snowstorm in the middle of winter and you were hoping and praying for that coveted snow day, this is the type of band you’d hear on the local radio station. They were the “light” alternative to all of the cool 90’s bands I loved like Green Day, The Offspring, Nirvana just to name a few. A band like Toad The Wet Sprocket wasn’t what I called a heavy hitting band or cool. Remember, I am the same guy who was a huge fan of cheesy pop from the 80’s.

For a few years there, Toad The Wet Sprocket churned out solid pop/rock hits like Good Intentions, All I Want, etc. These were all songs we heard on the radio and were very familiar with, but probably could not name the band they were associated with. In another lifetime, some years ago, I had a boss at Best Buy who told me that Toad The Wet Sprocket was one of his favorite bands. I already thought he wasn’t the coolest guy in the world so that did not help raise coolness points with me at all. Basically, for some odd reason, this band remained stored very far in the back of mind for years.

Over the past year or so something has changed. I have a long commute to work so I wind up listening to a lot of Sirius XM. As you can imagine, I flip all over the dial as I not only have a long drive, but am also very curious about what I can find. Sirius XM is guilty of overplaying the same stuff on many of their stations so I have to keep it fresh somehow. However, i’m not sure if it was Lithium or 90’s on 9 (probably the former), but I started hearing this amazing rock song with an accordion on it. It seemed very familiar to me as I am pretty sure I had heard it a lot growing up. I didn’t really seek it out, but it got my attention. The next time it caught my attention was during a Billy Joel Town Hall believe it or not. Billy had never heard of the song, but Howard Stern, who oddly enough was the moderator of the event, said he thought this song sounded like Billy Joel the first time he had heard it. The reason this got my attention is because he was completely wrong. As great as Billy Joel is, he would never write a song like this. I don’t think the lead singer of this band sounds anything like him. As a self proclaimed pop music nerd, a lot of thoughts raced through my mind after hearing some of these opinions. It made me want to hear the song more. As an adult, it was already starting to really grow on me anyway.

As a result of all of this, I woke up one day and realized I was not only wrong to write this band off for so long, but I was absolutely wrong to overlook this song. It has a beautiful arrangement thanks to what I believe is an accordion that we are hearing somewhere in there during the chorus. It has a nice, clean, well produced sound that is very typical of their music. It has an opening that pulls you in and takes you on a journey  through a heartbreaking story about a couple who talks about running away, but finds out that this is the end of the road for their relationship. When reading these lyrics, oddly enough, the story takes me back to a relationship that had a similar ending to it. Sometimes, no matter how much you are in love with each other, it’s just not right. You need to love each other enough to let go of the fantasy, walk away, and move on.

With all of this said, you would think that I would advise you to give every song on the radio a second listen. In a lot of cases it is true, you do need to give a song a few listens before it really pulls you in and you get it. Other times, it just needs to grow on you. Sometimes it will only take a few listens. Other times, it takes well over 20 years and a few odd stories in order for it to sink in. For me, even though I had overlooked this song during it’s heyday, I think it is one of the best songs of the 90’s. It has a timeless quality to it that puts it on another level compared to a lot of other songs from the decade. Maybe it was their sound. Maybe it was their goofy name. Maybe it was timing. Perhaps it was all of those things, but Toad The Wet Sprocket is a band that is worth another listen.

 

Wheel of Fortune by Ace Of Base

When I thought about what would be the first song i would blog about from the 90’s, only one stood out ahead of the rest. Some of the more quintessential 90’s songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit, End of the Road, or You Outta Know weren’t even considered. Although there might be a place for those down the road, at this point, I want to keep digging around for the ones you may not know or remember. Ace of Base definitely has it’s place among those of us who lived during the 90’s. Their album The Sign is synonymous with the decade. Not only was the album itself a huge success, but a few of the songs from the album were huge hits. Especially The Sign.

First of all, I have always been a huge ABBA fan. This was well known among my schoolmates as it was a very unusual interest for a teenager. It’s not that I wasn’t interested in new music, I just thought ABBA were an amazing band. I had already grew up listening to them thanks to an 8 track that got played on road trips throughout my childhood. To this day, I can say with pride that I am still just as big of a fan as I was back then. Unfortunately, kids can be a little closed minded. My fandom for ABBA wound up defining me more than it should have. When Ace of Base, who are also from Sweden, started having success. Many of my peers started telling me things like “ABBA is back together” or “Are they ABBA?” This was probably due to the fact that it was a 2 girl/2 guy group with a blonde girl, brunette girl, etc. Although there were similarities, they were not the same group as ABBA. Although I was a huge fan of Ace of Base, they weren’t as good either. I don’t think many bands are. I digress…..

Putting all of the ABBA comparisons and opinions of some of my classmates aside, The Sign was an awesome album front to back. Pretty much any song could have been a single. The single release situation, without really digging too hard for facts, seems a bit complicated. The album itself was named “Happy Nation” in other countries. Certain songs were released in the states while others were released in the UK and elsewhere. One song that I feel should have been released here in the US is Wheel of Fortune. Right from the first time I listened to this song, it stuck out as one of the best. Although a lot of their songs have a mixed dance/reggae type of beat, there is something magical about this song. Especially when paired up with the music video. It’s not that the message of the song is particularly deep or meaningful. It’s just a simple song about a girl pleading to her guy to not allow his dad’s approval/disaproval get in the way of the fact that she is in love with him. Atleast, that is how i seem to interpret it. I think it is the delivery of the vocals and how the message is being communicated. I tend to really like songs that are particularly straightforward in their delivery. This is probably why I like older music as it tended to be a little more upfront about the meaning of the song as opposed to a lot of the stuff we hear today. Nonetheless, this song, although pretty simple, just gets it right.

In my opinion, unlike some of the smash hits like All That She Wants and The Sign, I feel like this song stands the test of time ahead of the rest. When I think about Ace of Base, this is almost always the first song I think of. I’m not sure if the record label thought the video was little too dark versus the image they wanted to project for the band or if they just didn’t think this song would do as well as some of the ones they did pick for the US market. If it were up to me, this one would have been a single over “Don’t Turn Around” as I always tend to forget that this was even released as a single. I suppose if they had made “the right decision” and this song had been released followed by being a huge success, I may be talking about how overplayed or overrated this song was. Based on how much i’ve listened to this one over the years, I doubt it. Give it a listen with the video. While it might not be the most artistic, it is very well edited and fits the tone of the song perfectly.

Piano In The Dark by Brenda Russell

Remember my previous blog when I spoke about taking in a a really amazing pop gem while it was still fresh in the moment? Well, Piano in the Dark by Brenda Russell appears to be a masterpiece that I overlooked when it came out in 1988. Although i’ve pretty much always been in tune with what is going on in pop culture, you may have to forgive me as I was only 9 years old when this one came out. With that said, there is something very familiar about this song despite the fact that I don’t feel like I remember hearing it very much…if at all. I’m not sure if it is the style of production or it’s been buried deep within my memory, but I can’t say that I truly appreciated this one in the moment. That is a shame because this might be one of the best singles of the 80’s.

My first exposure to this song as an adult came a few years ago when it was talked about on Sirius XM’s 80’s on 8. I can’t remember if it was Martha Quinn or one of the other former Vj’s (i’ve come to find that all of them seem to love this song too), but their words were glowing through my car’s speakers even before they started playing this song. It got my attention so I tried to stay tuned in and give it a chance. You might be surprised, but after one or two listens on the radio I wasn’t really that impressed. Keep in mind, I am a huge music fan in general. I listen to today’s poppy sensations like Selena Gomez, I listen to the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Green Day, Vanessa Carlton, etc. I am all over the map. A good song is a good song. I didn’t necessarily think it was a bad song, it just didn’t impress me very much.

As time went by, and this song’s biggest fans, the Vj’s at 80’s on 8 kept playing it, something started to change. I can’t say I was actively listening to this song when it came on, but for some reason it started getting stuck in my head. As that happened, I started to take it in and even searched out the video for it on Youtube. I woke up one day and not only realized that this song had really grown on me, but it clicked in my head that this song was very underrated and deserved so much more appreciation. The truth is, as great of a song as this is, perhaps it’s just not the type of song that will ever be on the same 80’s pedestal as the classics we know and love. This one might have been a few years ahead of it’s time.

I encourage you, my reader, to give this one a listen. Keep it in your rotation. Listen to 80’s on 8 and let them plug it in there randomly from time to time so you have the opportunity to let this one sink in. I can’t say this song is particularly catchy. To be honest, I don’t know if I can really pinpoint what exactly this song is about because i’ve only really been hearing it for a short time. However, the vocal performance and arrangement is enough for me to feel what is going on in the song. It feels very deep. That is even without me trying to take in the actual message or meaning behind the song. Maybe I already do get it as I feel something every time I hear it.

Apparently, there are 2 versions of the music video. One of them is in black and white and one is in color. I don’t believe every piece of media in the world should be shot/produced in black and white, but I love when it is done right. In this case, it fits the vibe of the song very well. I don’t recall seeing this video back in the day so I don’t know if all of the apparent artifacting I see is creative or just the fact that converting it for an upload to Youtube didn’t work out too well.

One of my goals in the future is to get a little more familiar with Brenda Russell’s music. She has an incredible voice. I don’t even know if she has recorded much since that time period. At the very least, I plan to check out the album she put out from this time period as i’d like to see what else might be there that I missed. It’s hard to believe this one did so well on the charts (peaked at number 6 on the billboard charts according to Wikipedia), but was overlooked by me and apparently so many others. Maybe a blog like this can help that along a little bit more?

 

Heart and Soul by T’Pau

I was very fortunate to grow up during an era that not only consisted of very interesting, lushly produced music, but also had the images to go with it. There were also some amazing songs that came and went. If you paid attention and were lucky, you got to live in the moment and enjoy something really special. If you blinked and missed or just flat out dismissed what you were hearing, you may not realize what you missed until much later. Thankfully, I fully embraced the weirdness that was the song and video for T’Pau’s Heart and Soul. For those of you who are not up to snuff with Star Trek trivia, the band got their name from a Vulcan elder of the same name. Although I am a casual Star Trek fan, I did need to look that one up on Wikipedia (link has been included for your reading pleasure).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%27Pau_(band)

I might have been only 8 years old when this song came out, but I knew this was a brilliantly crafted song. Until I got much older and started researching the facts a little more, I always thought that the spoken word/rap portions of this song and the singing portions of the song were done by two different people. Perhaps I would have noticed that difference if I had been a little older, but the fact that I didn’t pick up on that initially says a lot about the arrangement and the video. Although Carol Decker the spoken word artist and Carol Decker the singer look very similar to each other, it is easy to dismiss them as separate people unless you know better.

As a person who has worked in television post production for quite a few years, I totally dig the way the video was edited. The filtering is very cool (and very 80’s) and it looks like something is always going on even though there really isn’t much to it. Although a lot of T’Pau’s music is hit or miss (I do highly recommend their debut album Bridge of Spies. It is brilliant!), this one song and video are perfect.

When I think about music and the 80’s, a ton of memories come back to me. As far as this song goes, it takes me back to the summer of ’87 and the obsession I had with this song. By that point, I had been soaking in popular music for a few years thanks to having older siblings. I can recall being captivated by a lot of songs between 1984-1986, but this was probably one of the first songs that I played over and over in my mind and couldn’t wait to see again on MTV or hear on the radio. The layers of music and vocals that were placed on this track were unlike anything I had ever heard to that point. To this day, I still consider this song to be ear candy every time I hear it because the ear can just bounce around through all of the different things going on throughout the song. For me, this is a small moment in pop music history I am thankful I was able to fully take in while it was going on in the moment.

 

I need to talk about it somewhere

There are a few things I have a passion for in my life. I love my wife, i love my cats, i love sports, and i love video games just to name a few. I find that these are all topics I can usually make conversation about that satisfies my passion. Not counting my wife who will always rank number 1, my biggest passion is listening to and learning about the music I love. Music tastes is a very tricky topic since it varies a lot moreso than things we can all usually agree on….or atlas somewhat agree on. I find that it is fun to dig up songs that haven’t been heard in years like Two Make It Right by Seduction or a song that goes way back to the 60’s like Popsicles and Icicles by the Murmaids. No matter how great or cheesy the music is, I really enjoy hearing it and learning about it. I want to use this blog as a way to generate conversation about the songs, artists, albums, etc that I am passionate about regardless of how lame or awesome they are perceived to be.

In honor of my first thoughts on this, in all of it’s neon glory is the music video for Two To Make It Right by Seduction. One of my favorite songs from the late 80’s/early 90’s. Although the Rob Base version is more well known and probably a lot less “lame” in most people’s opinion, I like this song more. It might be for the nostalgia. It could be due to my thirst for cheesy pop music. It could be the reminder of what our world used to be like (including a few shots of the WTC which is awesome). According to my research on Billboard.com, this song even made it all the way to number 2. Wikipedia link has also been inserted for your education. Seduction was one of many glorious, cheesy, poppy one hit wonders that have been beyond forgotten about….except maybe for me!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_to_Make_It_Right