...Heartbreaker, by Canadian electronica group MSTRKRFT (pronounced Mastercraft). MSTRKRFT comes out of Toronto and formed in 2005. The group consists of two members, Jesse F. Keeler and Al-P. Heartbreaker comes off of their Fist of God album (released in March 2009), which was their second studio album. Heartbreaker reached #5 on the UK Dance Charts, whilst Fist of God was ranked #14 Top Electronic Albums. MSTRKRFT are known for their various remixes of songs by other artists as well. Snap!
Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting#90 of the top 100 countdown!And the song is...Go!, by musical side project and 80's post-punk band Tones On Tail. According to wikipedia, Tones on Tail was a side-project of Daniel Ash (of Bauhaus) and Glenn Campling (a roadie of Bauhaus) in 1982. When Bauhaus officially broke up in 1983 they were also joined by Kevin Haskins (drummer). Then, a short 2 years later they broke up and Ash and Haskins went on to form the band Love and Rockets. Tones on Tail did one short tour of the UK and USA and they released one studio album titled Pop in 1984. Go! came in a 7" or 12" versions. To my knowledge Go! was sort of their big hit song, although I would encourage myself and others to listen to the rest of their whole one album. Well, that about says it for #90, and I guess we have officially made it through the first 10, only 90 more to go! You might find yourself asking/telling yourself, "what other songs are there??," and "We screwed up! We never should have fired George Newman, because he's got imagination! Well, I think the fries are just about done."
...Odessa, by Canadian electronica artist Caribou. Caribou is a one-man-band by the name of Daniel Victor Snaith, originally from London, Ontario. His original stage-name was Manitoba up til 2004 when he was threatened with a lawsuit by Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba. Oh my, you have just got to love us Americans and our extremely litigious ways, I mean can't we all just get along (oops better not say that, I might get sued). Which reminds me, did you know that the dude who does boxing and pro-wrestling intros actually owns the copyright to his (ready to rumble) speech?? How far is too far folks?? Anyways, getting on with the song of the day...it comes off of Caribou's 20th album called Swim, released in April of 2010 (this very month!). The music video is a bit eerie at best, and the song is definitely different. Blah blah blah! (oh crapola, there's another lawsuit waiting to happen, I can already see the Lawyers flying lazy circles.)
...Lonely in Your Arms, by Aussie indie band Deep Sea Arcade. Deep Sea Arcade are a five piece band, and they come at us out of sunny Sydney, Australia. Band members include Nic Mckenzie (vocals), Nick Weaver (bass), Carlos Adura (Drums), Tim Chamberlain (Guitar), and Simon Relfon (Guitar). They are currently recording their debut album and are thus quite a young band. That is about all the info I could find about them online. Lonely in Your Arms has an upbeat indie sound and adds yet another tick in the belt of Australian Indie Rock. For a country of only 22.3 million people (compared to 309 million in the USA) they sure know how to produce their fair share of great bands and music! Also, would like to acknowledge that yesterday was ANZAC Day, when around 11,000 Aussie and Kiwi soldiers (amongst others) died in WWI at Gallipoli, and wish everyone a Happy Belated ANZAC Day. Cheers everybody!
Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting#91 of the top 100 countdown! And the song is...Somebody's Watching Me, by former R&B performer Rockwell. Rockwell (aka Kennedy William Gordy) comes out of Detroit Michigan and was signed on to the Motown label in the 80's, which was founded by his father Berry Gordy (who just so happened to also be the CEO). It is said that Rockwell captured his record deal with Motown without his father's knowledge. Somebody's Watching Me became a top 10 pop hit in the US and the UK and a #1 R&B hit. The song features guest vocals by Michael and Jermaine Jackson, who are featured during the song's chorus. This song of course has also been remixed by various DJ's, and for anyone who has watched Don't Mess With the Zohan, you will have heard the mainstream house remix of the song. And for anyone who is looking for another good 80's song to add to their Halloween party play-list, this should be one of them. This song also has been featured in a movie tribute I've made and perhaps could one day release. The original song was released in January of 1984, and in 2009 the song was ranked #20 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s. Totally Rad!
...Repulsion, by US indie-rock band Quasi. Quasi come at us out of ever-green Portland, Oregon, regional home of the Trailblazers, great micro-brews, me, and much much more. Quasi formed in 1993, consisting of an ex-husband and wife duo, Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, rocksichord, and keyboards) and Janet Weiss on vocals and drums, to later on add bassist Joanna Bolme (in 2007). Quasi have been fairly prolific as they have released 10 studio albums. Repulsion, comes off of their latest album titled American Gong, which was released in February of 2010. I heard this band on the radio, an internet radio station and liked it, plus they are from my hometown. The radio personality was saying that they reckoned that Quasi are lost in the 90's, which I suppose I can see as they have some guitar riffs shades of Smashing Pumpkins, and vocals a bit reminiscent of 80's band The Replacements; but all in all that is all completely subjective, and they are indie-rock, so that's enough for me. Blah!
...Peek-a-boo, by independent Australian indie artist, songwriter, and guitarist Bertie Blackman. Bertie Blackman comes out of Sydney Australia, and has released 3 studio albums. Now, as most of you probably already know, Peek-a-boo was originally a Siouxsie and the Banshees song from their 1988 Peepshow album. The Siouxsie and the Banshees release is thought to be a remake of the original release titled Jeepers Creepers, written by Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer as a Jazz song in 1938. It usually irritates me when bands and artists do covers of songs, unless they can pull it off and make them sound better than the original (which is rarely done). I am also a big 80's music fan, so its a bit of a surprise to even myself that I actually like this cover-song by Bertie Blackman. I find that she has effectively recaptured the original sound quite well. Some other facts for you: Bertie is the daughter of Aussie artist Charles Blackman, and she began playing African percussion at the age of 12, and guitar at 15. She grew up in the suburbs of Bondi (a beautiful beachy area) and Paddo (Paddington for you non-Sydneysiders, which is a bit of a chic area near fashionable Oxford Street, or something like that). She won the Best Independent Release ARIA Award in 2009. Nuff said, enjoy, snap!
Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting#92 of the top 100 countdown!And the song is...Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, by 80's British new-wave rock band Ultravox!. According to wikipedia they were one of the primary bands involved in the Brit-electro-pop of the early 1980's. They were considered to be associated with the new romantic and the new wave movements. The band was originally formed in 1973 under the name Tigerlily. In 1976 the lead singer changed his name to John Foxx and the band changed their name to Ultravox! The actual evolution of the band and its members is rather convoluted and if you really want to know the details then I suggest you check out their wikipedia page. Dancing with Tears in My Eyes is a great dance track, and was the second single release off of the band's 7th studio album, Lament (released in 1984). Dancing with Tears in My Eyes hit #3 on the UK single charts, thus effectively putting Ultravox! back on the radar. Apparently (again according to wikipedia) the song is about nuclear power plants and the possibility of nuclear meltdown, which is depicted in the music video. I find that kind of strange now, seeing that the Chernobyl disaster occurred just two years later in 1986, but I suppose that would have made their message regarding the risks of nuclear power even more significant. There are a few different versions of the song, including the 7" and 12" vinyl versions. Enjoy!
...The Festival Song, by Aussie Hip Hop MC Pez (feat. 360 & Hailey Cramer). Pez (Perry Chapman) is from Melbourne, Australia and has released 4 albums between 2006-2009. The Festival Song was released as a single in 2008 and reached #53 on the Australian music charts. This song may not make much sense to those who are not Australian or who haven't been around the "Music Festival" culture that exists there. Pez refers to many different festivals (their is in fact one called Summer Dayz) that occur in Victoria in the Summertime (which is December-February in the Southern Hemisphere), although there are dozens that occur throughout Australia during the year. Amongst these festivals are Parklife, Homebake, V Festival, The Big Day Out, Splendour in the Grass, Soundwave, Falls Festival, Meredith Music Festival, Pyramid Rock Festival, and on and on....the fact is that despite having a total population of about 22.3 million people (that's 15 million fewer people than the state of California alone) Australia sure has its fair share of music festivals every year. If you want to see a fuller list of all them look here. Essentially that is what this song is about, the Aussie festival culture in all its glory. Straight Postin'!
...Dog Days Are Over, by UK indie-pop artist Florence and the Machine. Florence and the Machine comes out of London, and consists of Florence Welch, along with a variety of other artists that play backgrounds and other parts for her songs, but Florence is the lead. They are a young band, and released their first album in December 2008. They have a sort of indie-folk-pop sound, which alternates a bit during this song. I don't have too much more to say about this band as I really don't know much, but alas, this is the song of da day!
...Orange X, by Aussie alternative indie rock band The Seabellies. The Seabellies come at us out of Sydney, yes you heard correctly, another good rock band from the Sunny Down-unda,' fackin' oath maite! Wikipedia states that they are also based out beautiful Newcastle, and New South Wales in general, so I guess they claim the whole state as their home-base, fair enough. The Seabellies formed in 2006, and released a 6-track EP in 2007. Orange X is a single just released in 2010. The band consists of 6 members and as you can hear they incorporate some electronica/electro into their sound (as many of the bands of the moment do). I personally haven't heard their other tracks, but I dig this one, so here it is. Big ups yoself!
Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting#93 of the top 100 countdown!And the song is....Maniac, by American songwriter, guitarist, and singer Michael Sembello. Now, most of you will know this song from one of the famous dancing scenes (starring Jennifer Beals) in which she is doing some fancy cathartic footwork in her 80's Jane-Fonda workout outfit. Now it might be just about impossible to leave out songs from Flashdance (1983), seeing that it was such an iconic 80's dance movie, did I hear rumors that they are remaking Flashdance (amongst other 80's classics like Footloose and Ghostbusters).. blasphemy!! Although, they basically remake everything that sees a hint of success so it is probably just one of those inevitability's. Did you know that the idea for Flashdance was inspired during a trip to a Toronto strip club?? Thanks IMDB! Now, getting back to a little bit on the artist and the song. Michael Sembello comes out of Philadelphia, and started his career primarily as a studio-guitarist for big-timers such as Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, The Temptations, and more. Sembello's first solo album titled Bossa Nova Hotel, which included the song Maniac, reached #80 on the Billboard 200, and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September of 1983. Anyways, enough data and facts, just go out and watch yourself some Flashdance, revisit memory lane before Hollywood remakes it and ruins it all...just kidding..I hope ;-( Go Tommy Boy!
...Little Secrets, by US electronica band Passion Pit. Passion Pit come at us out of Cambridge, Massachusetts and formed in 2007. The group consists of Michael Angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), Ian Hultquist (keyboards/guitar), Ayad Al Adhamy (synth), Jeff Apruzzese (bass) and Nate Donmoyer (on da drums). According to wikipedia, the name is derived from slang that was used to describe drive-in movie theaters as "passion pits," due to teenage hancky-pancky that tends to go on there. Passion Pit have released an EP and one full-length studio album. Little Secrets comes off of their album titled Manners (released in May 2009). Passion Pit definitely have a unique sound and electronic style to their music that makes them stand out a bit in that realm where so many bands tend to sound, how does one say "same same, but different." There are also such a ridiculous number of remixes by so many other dj's and groups out there that it can be a chore just to sort through it all to find the original mixes. Bloody volcanoes!
Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting #90 of the top 100 countdown!And the song is...Go!, by musical side project and 80's post-punk band Tones On Tail. According to wikipedia, Tones on Tail was a side-project of Daniel Ash (of Bauhaus) and Glenn Campling (a roadie of Bauhaus) in 1982. When Bauhaus officially broke up in 1983 they were also joined by Kevin Haskins (drummer). Then, a short 2 years later they broke up and Ash and Haskins went on to form the band Love and Rockets. Tones on Tail did one short tour of the UK and USA and they released one studio album titled Pop in 1984. Go! came in a 7" or 12" versions. To my knowledge Go! was sort of their big hit song, although I would encourage myself and others to listen to the rest of their whole one album. Well, that about says it for #90, and I guess we have officially made it through the first 10, only 90 more to go! You might find yourself asking/telling yourself, "what other songs are there??," and "We screwed up! We never should have fired George Newman, because he's got imagination! Well, I think the fries are just about done."
