"Beat the Clock"

Sparks - "Beat the Clock" (1979)

Odd band, interesting story, song that doesn't stand the test of time but is historically significant.



Sparks started life as two brothers from LA who write music that no one else really seemed to get. They eventually got traction in England, and took up residency in London, writing operatic pop music like their big hit "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both of Us". The vocals were high pitched, the songs were piano driven, and after a few albums with a full band, they still hadn't had any real success outside of England. As the 70s were drawing to a close, they became enamored with Disco, and their new angle was born.

Producer Giogio Moroder had just finished working with Donna Summer and got put together with the Mael brothers who had just ditched the rest of the band. They kept the high pitched vocals and the keyboard driven, but switched to synthesizers. Moroder's disco beats hung the whole thing together and the hit upon the synth duo; a musical style that would burn through England, Europe, and shape the 80s in America as well.

It is a perfect example of a mid 80s New Wave sound, so while it doesn't really sound great to me, you have to respect the fact that this was released in July of 1979. The vocals are impressive, but the song is ultimately a drum loop and a synth player who might as well be looped for most of the track.

"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"

Culture Club - "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (1982)

Apparently Boy George started on stage as Lieutenant Lush, an occasional guest vocalist for Bow Wow Wow, who was booed off stage until he was dropped and started his own band.



So I am really just listening to this song for the first time. Of course I was aware of it culturally, and have heard it thousands of times at school dances, in The Wedding Singer, and played every time someone on VH-1 says 80s. But I've never bothered listening to it before. It's a very quiet song, a very sad song, a touching mournful song; sitting on the back of a Reggae dance beat to make it all go down easier.

There is very little solo keyboard in the song, but it's there, floating along in the background, holding down the chords. The bass is too busy showing off to hold the song together, and I really like the kinda flashy bass work. There is a sound of a Glockenspiel throughout the song, but I'm pretty sure that's a synth sound. The strings sounds at the beginning for sure are artificially created. I really like the church choir sound of the beginning. The subtle soaring sound of the backing vocalists really hits at the right moments during the song, but in particular make the opening a memorable almost confessional moment. As much as I like the vocals and the bass, it's the beat that makes this song danceable, and stand out from any number of New Wave love songs. The Brits really love their reggae, which I did not really know before reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. It really influenced British New Wave and the British Punk Scene. This songs rhythm is pure laid back reggae and that beat made it possible to move your butt while listening to an androgynous man sing about love in a manner that made people confused. It was really the beat that made Americans OK with such an odd and different band I'm sure.

"Voices Carry"

'Til Tuesday - "Voices Carry" (1985)

OK, I'm going to admit it, turns out the cute redhead in the band that I always thought was better looking than Aimee Mann is actually guitarist Robert Holmes.



It's a track that leans heavily on the synthesizers and driving high hat but the vocals and bass really make it a memorable track. Aimee Mann provides both of those things. Her shouted lines like "He wants me/ but only part of the time./ He wants me/ if he can keep me in line!/" (Mann) are powerful and compelling, and her sung/whispered take on the chorus is so breathy it would be sexy if she wasn't talking about an abusive relationship. Mann is also the bass player and the bass line is the only instrumental part that sticks with me. The backing vocals are also really lush , with male and female vocalists blending together to sound really big and deep and important. It really helps the song build at the end so that the backing vocalists can keep going while Mann on lead can start going into her "He said shut up!" lines.

The song was famously written as a woman singing to another woman, but the record company wanted the song to be the lead single off the album so they asked for a change. The band agreed and 'Til Tuesday got their biggest hit. Aimee Mann went on to a solo career, including an Oscar nomination for her work on the soundtrack to Magnolia. In 2005 she recorded an acoustic version as an iTunes exclusive. It's not completely acoustic mind you, just features an acoustic guitar, but it's very worth a listen. Her voice is still great.

"Kings of the Wild Frontier"

Adam & The Ants - "Kings of the Wild Frontier" (1980)

Adam Ant was born Stuart Leslie Goddard. Not as big a mouthful as Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, but I think we can forgive him for wanting a stage name.



Interesting song, You've got African style drums, masquerading as Native American drums. You've got guitars that are twangy, so they evoke the country sound and more specifically, the western movie genre sound. then you've got war whoops and lyrics about family, nobility, war cries and 'redskins'. Not exactly politically correct, but for a British band from the 80s gosh darn it they were trying to bring attention to something. They actually used two drummers on this album, one of whom, Chris Hughes, produced the record. The whole guitar sound, crashing down loudly over the drums makes this track much louder and impressive than I expected going into a track from the band before Adam Ant went solo.

So a little history on that. Adam & The Ants were founded in 1977 and had some minor success live, while never achieving much success on record sales. In January of 1980 the band's manager Malcolm McLaren (who had managed the Sex Pistols) convinced the whole band, minus vocalist Adam Ant, to quit and be the basis for a new band, Bow Wow Wow, to be fronted by a 14 year old girl that his friend had seen in a dry cleaner. Adam put together a new band, recorded a new album, and released Kings of the Wild Frontier, a big hit. Just two years later he went solo as Adam Ant, but continued to work with guitarist Marco Pirroni as a co-songwriter.

"Roxanne"

The Police - "Roxanne" (1978)

"When love is for the highest bidder, there can be no trust. Without trust, there can be no love."



So what do we call this first early hit by The Police? Is it New Wave? There's no keyboard, but it does come from the same time period as the pop friendly post punk genre. Is it Reggae? The guitarist seems to be playing in a reggae band for sure, and he's half convinced the bass player to come along. But what about the drums? They seem to be playing something like a tango with a lot more cymbals making it almost a dance track, but tango is a dance, so is that redundant? There is also so much dead air that it would take a very confidant band with a lot of composure to pull something like that off, but this was only their second single you say?  Oh yeah, and that laugh at the beginning with the piano before it? That's because the singer sat on the piano in the recording studio and they were broke and couldn't really afford to do another take so they left it in.  Put all that together and you take a struggling not-really-a-punk-band-not-really-an-anything-band, and turn them into one of the most defining New Wave bands of the era.

Before Sting became a tantric sex advocate, before he wrote for Walt Disney, before he wrote adult contemporary Celtic influenced soft rock, before he became an actor even; he was the bass player, singer, and primary songwriter for The Police. They were an older group of guys, two over twenty five and one over thirty five who wanted to play punk music. They were a little old and a little too talented to be taken seriously so they tried something else. No one believed in them and they had no record deal, so drummer Stewart Copeland got his brother Mike to loan them money for recording time. They slipped in between other acts, showed up on days they weren't at work and waited until other bands no showed and then recorded for a couple of hours as much as they could. It was when Mike heard "Roxanne"; a song Sting wrote while looking out the window at prostitutes in Paris, that he decided they could make it and he became their manager and took the single around to anyone who would listen to try to get them a break. It was a flop when first released, and took over a year before it became even a minor hit in either the U.S. or the U.K. It's a good lesson in never giving up on your dreams. But I'll still always associate it with Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs.

"You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"

Dead or Alive - "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (1984)

At the time that it reached number 1 in the U.K. it held the record for taking the longest time to get there.



This song has been covered, sampled, and dragged through the trailers and movies that need to "sound 80s" for so long it's hard to imagine but this actually sounded original when it came out. Lead singer Pete Burns got inevitable comparisons to Culture Club singer Boy George, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood and New Order were already dominating the charts with synthesizer driven danceable pop. But this had something different. I think it's Burns vocals, which are strong; both soaring and rough when they need to be, and he playfully flirts with the listener the entire song.

The rest of the track is standard 80s fair, but I should point out that a live drummer and bass player were on the track, as well as a keyboard player and various engineers adding those doodling electronic effects. The fact that the drums and bass are live, and don't stop is what gives the song its heart. All the little effects on the keyboard and otherwise make the song fun, but you need a real rhythm section to give a song a solid foundation. Not that I really think much of the song in general, other than the vocals, but at least there were instrumentalists involved and not just a guy sitting in front of a computer creating loops. Wow, I sound old and cranky. I thought the French and Tejano music would be enough to let me review an 80s tune, but I guess it's time to take a break from dance music again.

"Ambition"

Subway Sect - Ambition (1978)

An early recording by an all but forgotten British punk band.



By the time this single was released, the band had ceased to exist. They reformed later, around front man Vic Godard. The band itself was very British punk: short punchy songs, with an almost whiny untrained vocal running high above the rest of the band, singing a nihilistic tune. But this song adds a ever present synthesizer track that itself is very high in the register; like the high part of a roller skating rink or baseball stadium's organ. Also an odd "plinking" sound that is not in time with the song at all. So much so that I find it distracting. The book says that it is the sound of ping-pong balls that were recorded from an arcade game. I'm imagining something like Pong.

Ignoring the plinking, the song sounds very pop. It's short, it's fast, the drums keep it moving, the synth and guitar are almost always fast and in a major key; when they do go minor, it's only for a measure or two, then right back to the major key. The bass part is fast, and keeps up with the keyboard and guitar which isn't always common in rock, but is common in American soul music, which is what many of the members of Subway Sect were fans of.

"Heaven"

Talking Heads - Heaven (1979)

I would have guessed this was David Byrne based on the voice, but I never would have guessed this was a Talking Heads track.



The guitar is a little twangy, giving it the country influence the book mentions. We've also got simple piano, or at least a synthesizer set to upright. The drum part is almost overwhelming to me; repetitive, too loud, and frankly both dull and too much. The bass line here is moving as fast or faster than the piano during most of the song. Due to the fact that the guitar is playing an atmospheric twang part, the bass becomes a real driving force of the song; really keeping it moving along with the non stop drums - which is ironic considering the lyrics.

The song is about the afterlife, but a version of Heaven few would consider positive. It is a place where "nothing ever happens" and "it will not be any different, it will be exactly he same". Never has Heaven been described in such a way that no one, save people with anxiety that too much is happening and lovers of boredom; would ever want to go. It could be interpreted as very zen, nothing that ends doesn't begin again. but I just think it sounds terrible. Not that the song is terrible, the word play is fantastic: "the band in heaven, they play my favorite song/Play it one more time, play it all night long". It just does a great job of describing a place I wouldn't want to go.

"Need You Tonight"

INXS - Need You Tonight (1987)

The music and lyrics were written on the same night on different continents before being brought together.

Great opening guitar riff. Apparently this song has a mix of live recorded drums and drum sequencers. They also used a keyboard with one of those "whammy wheel"pitch changers on it. The whole song is kind of Schizophrenic to me. The drums and keyboard and repetitive electric guitar sound that is plucked out all sound very buttoned up. On the other hand the shouted harmony, breathy lead, thumping bass and loud guitar riffs all sound very hot and loose. Producer Chris Thomas layers these two feels together for a great sexy love song.

Guitarist Andrew Farriss really did write the guitar riff while a cab driver waited to drive him to the airport. After his flight to Hong Kong, he met up with singer Michael Hutchence, who had just written a bunch of lyrics the night before. Multiple sources claim that Hutchense was singing along to the tape the Farriss brought, and both ended at the same time. They new they had something. The abrupt break at the end of the song is because on the album, is segues into Mediate; the song where everything rhymes and they do their best Bob Dylan.

"Another Girl, Another Planet"

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (1978)

Another one hit wonder by a British band. At least this one is a great song.

Really good Punk/New Wave song. 3 Minutes long, perfect length. Rhythm guitar starts us off with a simple progression, hidden in the back of the mix. When the bass guitar starts in playing a few notes to bottom out the chords, the rhythm guitar adds a little bit of complexity in the strumming. The drums sneak up on you, kind of a rolling sound, with heavy bass drum and tom. By the time all the instruments are in we are almost 30 seconds into this short track and we've got a serious dance-able pop sound. The way the guitars interact around :40 makes it clear that this is not a polished band with the backing of millions of dollars, this is a couple of lads with a song and some guitars, and it may not be perfect, but you love it.

The vocals come in just before the first minute. He's not a professional either. His voice is nasal and his "flow" is off. the lyrics seem to just sort show up on the track when he feels like, rather than rhythmically along with the melody. He's behind the beat, then he's stumbling through a line with too many syllables trying to stay ahead of the beat; it's odd, but considering the lyrics are about drug use, it's a style that fits.

The guitar solo that starts at 1:45 and dominates the track is a real highlight. It's 30 seconds in a 3 minute long song. It's kind of got a surf rock thing (so do the drums later) going on. Actually, with the British vocals, space rock/surf rock sound, really short length, and vague drug references, this song could have easily been a hit a decade before it was written.

"I'm in Love with a German Film Star"

The Passions - I'm in Love with a German Film Star (1981)

Wow, what a pretentious title huh?

Apparently the subject of the song wasn't a film star, or even German. It was a roadie for the Sex Pistols that did do some minor German films. The song is really about texture and sound, like shoe gaze, rather than rocking rhythm or guitar riffs or whatever. The vocals are dreamy, misty and a little echo/reverby; just like the guitar parts. The little lead guitar lick around 1:00 is the most interesting part of the song. Everything else is very basic three chord rock with a mind numbingly boring drum beat.

This video is a Top of the Pops version, but it's the album audio; bands didn't play live on TOTP at the time. Honestly I don't know why this British one hit wonder band gets placed on a list of 1001 songs to hear before you die. I feel like I could have gone a couple of lifetimes without hearing this one.

"Boys Don't Cry"

The Cure - Boys Don't Cry (1979)

This is a really catchy song.



It's got such a peppy upbeat feel in the music, contrasted of course by the lyrics; the singer has given up on regaining the love of the object of his affection. The guitar is simple, effective, keeping the song light and staying out of the way of the vocals. The drums are almost all closed high hat and snare keeping a real fast beat, staying on top of it and never letting us quit. The bass is a little quiet in this mix for my taste. It mostly doubles the guitar. The bassist was out of the band before the song ever broke in America. The little bit of lead guitar work is such a famous little riff. I think if you played just that little rise up into the fall, almost everyone would recognize it. All in all, the song is short, catchy, a little repetitive, and a classic.

"Mr. Brightside"

The Killers - Mr. Brightside (2003)

A Vegas band that had to go to an English indie label to get a record deal.

The first notes are a guitar that has some filter on it, but it really rings out nicely. While the drums start off making you think it's going to be a repetitive dance hall kind of sound, they really change through the whole song. There is a lot of reliance on the high hat though. Most of the bass lines during the verses are short simple and heading down. The keyboards were totally unexpected to me. A fairly straightforward rock song about misplaced love, while a little overly dramatic and then BAM! 80's style synth right there in the breakdown. The vocals make use of a megaphone sound at the beginning and a few times during the song but they are mostly high and plaintive.

That is the overwhelmingly powerful piece of the song. While I like the rest of it, it is the vocals of Brandon flowers that are so heartfelt. When you find out that the story and some of the lyrics are based on an actual girlfriend of Flowers, it all makes sense. Instrument wise my favorite part of the song is at 2:55 when the second breakdown kicks off. Four measures that are clearly meant to remind us of Beethoven's Ode to Joy in his 9th Symphony, followed by the same four measures again, this time with a increasingly loud snare drum marching us into the final bit of the song. My favorite part of the song overall though is the subverted rhyme Flowers delivers at 1:58:

Now they're going to bed,
And my stomach is sick,
And it's all in my head,
But she's touching his chest

"Rock Lobster"

The B-52's - Rock Lobster (1978)

There goes a Narwhal!

Swingin' 60's surf music right? Wrong. What starts as as almost goofy and playful sounding becomes threatening by the middle and flat out crazy person by the end. That opening lick is so iconic. The guitar is baritone tuned, and the bass line is played on an organ. The instrumentation has very few high tones, which adds to the ominous feel of the whole thing. The organ does play some highs, but only near the beginning. The two women providing backup also make it seem like a normal 60's beach song at first. They are also responsible for all of the various sound effects associated with the listing of marine animals.

At about 1:30 we get a falling vocals matched with surf guitar sound. Then the original riff shows up again for a moment, but we are hardly going back to the opening sound. When Fred Schneider roars out "let's rock" at 2:20 he might as well be fronting The Jam. The lyrics are still life-guards and tanning butter but the song is punk. For the rest of the song, the lyrics get stranger. The guitar and organ sounds are driving you into a hellish underwater landscape by the end.

"Girls on Film"

Duran Duran - Girls on Film (1981)

Well aren't we all glad that camera sound stops after ten seconds?

So why isn't this synth pop? It is "80s" music with a synthesizer in it. But synth pop has to have the synth be the driving musical instrument of the song. The song has a straight ahead bass line, and some rockin' guitar licks going on. I really like the drums during the chorus. The chorus is such a simple thing, and the drummer really emphasizes that by dropping out of the double time he's been maintaining during the rest of the song and playing a much simpler pattern. This song would make an interesting cover by a rock band. Not a punk cover, but a rock cover, no synth. Not Vampire Weekend. It would sound a little to much the same, just faster.

"Cars"

Gary Numan - Cars (1979)

Well, I think I found the break. This song was released in the summer of 1979, but is clearly remembered as an "80s" song. I'm marking it at 70s as far as the labels go, because it's a date, not a genre.

Beginning with an ominous oscillating electric mid ranged sound, this song quickly kicks into the well known synth heavy riff that even Homer Simpson can sing along with. Outside of the percussion, (hey there tambourine solo!) you would think the entire song is recorded on keyboards. You would be wrong. The production notes mention bass guitar. I think it must of been doubled by keyboard, because even the bottom most notes in every groove have that synthesized sound. Even the vocals are intentionally "robotic" sounding like they've been compressed.

Lyrically the song reminds us that when we are inside of our cars, we in the modern world feel safely cut off from everyone else. Reading the lyrics as a poem, it sounds like a mentally unstable homeless person that lives in a run down part of town in their bombed out car is slowly beginning the process of healing. I'm imagining an "80s movie" with Jodie Foster as the psychologist trying to heal the protagonist, and bearded Robin Williams as the homeless crazy. It would be a bust at the box office, but a critical success. Siskel would have hated it, but Ebert would have talked about what a great serious role it was for Robin Williams. It would mostly be remembered as one of the early film roles of Leaf (soon to be Joaquin) Phoenix.

"Mad World"

Tears for Fears - Mad World (1982)

I haven't heard this version in decades. I have the Michael Andres/Gary Jules version and thought I was good, didn't need anything else. But this is something else. Overwhelmingly 80's of course, but not poppy at all. The electric synth stuff at the beginning is heavy and oppressive. When they break into the chorus it lets you take a breath, then straight back into the oppressive chords. In fact the second verse gives me the chills with the laughing brass at "happy birthday" and "no one knew me".

Instrumental break at 2:20 is scary for its lack of humanity. Everything played is perfect and on beat, like a distopian robot has decided that they can play the song so there is no longer any need for Tears for Fears to continue playing. Overall, I may love the Donnie Darko version, but this is excellently dark and off-putting.

"Atomic"

Blondie - Atomic (1979)

Kinda cool song. Debbie Harry's vocals are very pop normal. Lyrically, she could be singing uh huh and yeah all the way through it for all it matters. But the music is so different. It has elements of a soundtrack. The band has said it was influenced by Westerns. You can tell. It would have made a great soundtrack to Westworld released earlier in the decade. It's like a danceable spaghetti western song. Or if someone told the band to make a theme song to a movie called Cowboys & Aliens. There's some odd spacey keyboard sounds, a bass solo of all things, and in fact, for two minutes out of the four minute song, no one is singing at all.