Here we are already at #56 of VJ Samosonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hit Countdown! And the song is....Dancing in the Sheets (Extended 12" Mix), by American soul-pop-disco groupShalamar. Shalamar formed back in 1975 and were active as a group up until 1991. This dance hit first appeared on the scene in November of 1984 on their Heartbreak album, and it also appeared on the 80's hit movie soundtrack for Footloose (1984), which incidentally hit the screens in 1984. In fact, their is a long dance scene involving the local teeny-boppers, dancing and getting loose to this tune at their local diner/arcade/hang-out, so go rent the movie if you don't remember or know what I am talking about, it is a truly classic scene. Another interesting fact about the Footloose (1984) soundtrack is that it from April 21st-June 30th, 1984, it was was ranked at Number One on the Billboard 200 Pop Album chart, while the song Dancing in the Sheets would peak at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shalamar consisted of Howard Hewett, Jeffrey Daniel, and Carolyn Griffey primarily, but over the years it included other members such as the Grammy Award winning guitarist/singer Micki Free. Shalamar began originally as a disco-driven group created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey, but they developed into an influential dance and fashion-setting trio. Well there you have it, #56 in all its glory, now make sure you go out and watch Footloose sometime soon, as I hear they are remaking a new version of the movie which is going to feature country music??? Sounds lame to me, sometimes they should just leave old creations be in their original form, and create something brand new, but alas they are remaking all of my old 80's favorites left and right. I suppose that means one is finally over the hill when Hollywood has remade a newer version of all the childhood movies, shows, and cartoons??
And the song is... Howlin' for You by American Blues rock duo The Black Keys. The Black Keys have been posted on this vlog before, but I will refresh the memory as I can't even seem to locate the past posts I've done of them. They are Dan Auerbach (vocalist/guitarist) and Patrick Carney (drummer/producer), and they formed in 2001 out of Akron, Ohio. This song can be found as the 4th track on their latest album release titled Brothers, which officially hit the stores on May 18th, 2010. I might just add that I reckon the Black Keys are one of the top new artists out there, and they bring us back to a sound that was lost in the 1960's but also with new elements which seems to be what defines great new music. Enjoy!
This is a World War II movie starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr. It is quite a good for a war movie, and one with a little bit of suspense here and there. A marine and a nun are trapped alone on a South Pacific island near Fiji that is frequented by Japanese troops, interesting plot and apparently there were two Oscar nominations given to this one.
And the song of the day is...After Dark (ft. Mystery Jets), by English duo The Count & Sinden. The Count & Sinden are and electronic-duo coming out of London, England. The duo have been around since 2008 and they are Joshua "Hervé" Harvey (aka The Count), and Sinden. After Dark is a single release (released on August 15th, 2010) featuring the 5-piece English indie rock band Mystery Jets, which is due to appear on their debut album titled Mega Mega Mega.This song has already peaked at #4 on the UK Independent Chart. Enjoy!
And the song of the day is....Jazzy, by Australian hip-hop artist knoe FM. knoe Fm is a young MC from Perth, in Western Australia. There is not too much info about know FM on his pages, but you can check out his myspace page for more info. Also, this song is available for listening or as a free mp3 download at this webpage. Actually you will have to go to that site to even hear the song, so make sure you do that, enjoy!
And the song for today is.... So Bad by Australian hip-hop artist Class A. Class A is a hip-hop artist coming out of Melbourne, Australia who was voted the best Female MC there in 2008 and 2009. She has already shared the stage with big-time acts such as Talib Kweli, The Hilltop Hoods, Dilated Peoples, and more...and one can tell that she has "it," whatever "it" is. This song comes off of Class A's soon to be released (September 17th, 2010, to be exact) debut album titled Me, Me, Me and Him: The Secret Life of a Receptionist. If you like the song, it is still available as a free mp3 download at this web page.
Aloha all, we are now presenting #57 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits, and #57 is.....Summer of '69, by Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams. Bryan Adams was born on November 5th, 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and has become the bestselling Canadian male recording artist of all time! Over the years he has won 15 Grammy Awards, 18 Juno Awards, as well as MTV Awards, ASCAP Awards, and American Music Awards. I would also mention that his music done for films have been nominated for Golden Globes and Academy Awards as well. Quite the talent, and I would guess that most Americans don't realize that he is actually a Canadian, in fact I have discovered that many actors, musicians, bands, and performers that people think are home-grown Americans are often from Canada, Britain, or Australia, which is quite interesting and not to mention a tangent, so allow me to digress. In April 2006 Adams was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and in 2008 he was ranked #38 on the list of All-Time top artists by the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts. He is no doubt a big player in the music biz, and he got his start there in 1977. Adams has sold somewhere around the vicinity of 100 million records worldwide. Summer of '69 came off of his 4th studio album titled Reckless, which was released in June 1985. According to wikipedia, the reference to '69 in the song is actually a sexual reference as opposed to the common perception that he is singing about 1969, which actually surprises me a little bit, as I was one of those people up til now that thought he was referring to the year. Later on down the same wikipedia page it states that Adams revealed in an interview with In the Studio that the song indeed is a reference to the year 1969 and the cultural revolutions and social movements that were taking place at that time, so pick your own interpretation or even both. Upon its release in 1985, Summer of '69 peaked at #5 on the US Billboard Top 100 chart, and it remains an 80's staple for pub cover-bands the world round. So, there is #57, and off we go to discover #56 and onwards....
And the song of the day is....Met on Mars, by Australian electronica duo Mammoth Logic. Mammoth Logic consists of Dave Crowe & Reid Jones, and they come out of the city of Adelaide, in South Australia. The electronic duo have been described as a mix of 'futuristic pop' with 'French-electro' with post-punk-rock, which is quite a mix indeed. This song came out just in the past few months of this year (2010), and they are set to release an album, so keep your eyes peeled for that. If you like the song then you should take note that it is currently available as a free download at this page.
And the song is...Gate Track, by Aussie indie-pop group Convaire. Convaire formed in 2009 in Sydney, Australia, and consisting of members John Towey (guitars), sisters Liz and Jane Slattery (keyboards) and Dan Talbot (bass guitar). Gate Track was a single release in 2010, there is no youtube video for this track yet, but it is available for free download at this link. The band also has an EP release that is set to be released within the next year. Enjoy!
I've been gone a few days, but I am now back, and I am carrying with me the secret envelope that contains #58 of the countdown....and the song is....It's Like That, by the infamous 80's American hip-hop group Run D.M.C.. Run D.M.C. came out of Hollis in the Queens borough of New York City. Run D.M.C. formed back in 1981, and consisted of members Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizel. It's Like That appearedinitially as a single on cassette release in 1983 which was accompanied by another track titled Sucker M.C.'s. Run D.M.C. is considered by many to be one of the most influential hip-hop groups in music history, and along with other acts of the time (such as LL Cool J) they were pioneers of the new school of hip hop. According to wikipedia, they were the first group in the hip-hop genre to achieve a Grammy Award and a Gold Album, and Rolling Stone Magazine named them #48 on their list of Greatest Musical Artists of All Time. Finally, in 2004 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, (despite the fact that they were a hip-hop group) and they were only the second hip-hop group in history to have achieved this. There are heaps more trivia items about Run D.M.C. on their wikipedia page, so I suggest you look there for more info on the group. Also, there has been a very popular and well done remix version of It's Like That by Jason Nevins (released in 1997) which I also highly recommend checking out. However, the original is a classic so what I would truly recommend is getting a hold of both versions. Bam!
And the song isGoliath, by Australian skatronic/brass/beats band The Brown Horn Orchestra. The Perth-based Brown Horn Orchestra consists of members Nicholas Owen, Karri Harper Meredith, Jake Chaloner, Sky Eaton, Lyndon Blue, Ben Lanzon, Angelique Ross, Emcee Rezide, and Lauren Todhunter. They are the 2010 WAMi Award winning band with a wide variety and eclectic mix of sounds and musical styles that I would compare to another Aussie band called The Cat Empire. They also won the Campus Band Competition in 2009, and they have a highly anticipated LP set to come out in early 2011. For more info on the band check out their myspace page here. Also, this song is available as a free download at this link here. Enjoy!
And the song is...Up Against the Fire, by Australian 5-piece indie-rock band Elke. Elke formed back in 2007 as a weekend recording band in the sunny city of Brisbane, Queensland (aka Bris-Vegas). I don't have too much more information about the song or the band other than what I was able to find at this page (note that this song a and a few other Elke songs are available for free download here as well). Alas, youtube doesn't have this song posted quite yet, so if you wish to hear it go to the link in the previous sentence or check out some of their other songs and info at their myspace page here. I am off to the wilderness for 3 days or so, so no more posts til next week, shazam!
Back to the 80's once again, and I have been sprucing up my 80's music collection (especially the dance hits lately) and always finding new (to me) great 80's dance music. Looking to do some 80's DJ work here soon, but that put aside we are at #59 of the countdown, and the song is....Who's Johnny, by American R&B/pop music falsetto singer El Debarge. Now if this song doesn't have that classic 80's synth-pop sound then I don't know what does. Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge came out of Grand Rapids, Michigan andwas the lead singer and focal point of the family group called Debarge throughout the early to mid 1980's. El Debarge is best known for Who's Johnny which appeared as track #1 on his self-titled album which was released in 1986 and would eventually reach Gold status. The record was released under Gordy Records, which was a sub-label of Motown Records, which also carried 80's African American artists Michael Jackson and Rockwell. Who's Johnny also appeared as a single on the classic 80's robot movie Short Circuit soundtrack, which was quite fitting seeing that the robot's name in the film was Johhny-5. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Hot R&B Singles chart that same year. The song brings back memories of being a kid and watching Short Circuit, who I reckon was way cooler than that new Wall-E character/film and clear Johnny-5 rip-off they came up with (although it was pretty good too).
Here we are already at #56 of VJ Samosonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hit Countdown! And the song is....Dancing in the Sheets (Extended 12" Mix), by American soul-pop-disco group Shalamar. Shalamar formed back in 1975 and were active as a group up until 1991. This dance hit first appeared on the scene in November of 1984 on their Heartbreak album, and it also appeared on the 80's hit movie soundtrack for Footloose (1984), which incidentally hit the screens in 1984. In fact, their is a long dance scene involving the local teeny-boppers, dancing and getting loose to this tune at their local diner/arcade/hang-out, so go rent the movie if you don't remember or know what I am talking about, it is a truly classic scene. Another interesting fact about the Footloose (1984) soundtrack is that it from April 21st-June 30th, 1984, it was was ranked at Number One on the Billboard 200 Pop Album chart, while the song Dancing in the Sheets would peak at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shalamar consisted of Howard Hewett, Jeffrey Daniel, and Carolyn Griffey primarily, but over the years it included other members such as the Grammy Award winning guitarist/singer Micki Free. Shalamar began originally as a disco-driven group created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey, but they developed into an influential dance and fashion-setting trio. Well there you have it, #56 in all its glory, now make sure you go out and watch Footloose sometime soon, as I hear they are remaking a new version of the movie which is going to feature country music??? Sounds lame to me, sometimes they should just leave old creations be in their original form, and create something brand new, but alas they are remaking all of my old 80's favorites left and right. I suppose that means one is finally over the hill when Hollywood has remade a newer version of all the childhood movies, shows, and cartoons??
