Inspired by the March 6 birthdays of Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Tyler the Creator, Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Bubba Sparxxx, Betty Boo, Beanie Sigel, Lou Costello, Kiki Dee, Bowling For Soup’s Jaret Reddick and The Blasters’ Phil Alvin.
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Inspired by the March 5 birthdays of Andy Gibb, The Fall’s Mark E. Smith, The Equals’ Eddy Grant, Teena Marie, Murray Head, Paul Evans, The Proclaimers’ Craig and Charlie Reid, Steve Arrington, Tommy Tucker, Rex Harrison and Eddie Hodges.
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Nineteen eighty wasn’t a game changing year on the US pop chart. It wasn’t 1964. It wasn’t 1991. For the most part it was music business as usual. The death of disco was greatly exaggerated. Just ask any member of Lipps, Inc., should you have any idea what any member of Lipps, Inc. looks like. Seventies hit makers stayed on the charts. Paul McCartney. Diana Ross. Stevie Wonder. Barbra Streisand. The Captain & Tennille did it to us one more time, it meaning having a hit single. A few outsiders snuck into the top 40 with sounds unlike the rest – Devo hit with “Whip It,” Gary Numan with “Cars,” and The Vapors with “Turning Japanese.” In the coming years more such weirdos would make their presence known.
While many of 1980’s hits were great singles, many classics were born outside of the mainstream. Releases such as Bob Marley & the Wailers’ “Redemption Song,” Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Peter Gabriel’s “Biko,” Prince’s “When You Were Mine,” David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes,” and Funky 4 + 1’s “That’s the Joint” are often referred to as classics these days. In 1980, not a single one of them troubled the US Hot 100. Change was on its way. In 1980, rap wasn’t a fixture on the top 40, though its influence was heard in Queen’s #1 smash “Another One Bites the Dust.” The next few years saw #1 hits from Peter Gabriel, Prince, David Bowie and a rap song, plus a top ten reggae song.
Today’s Throwback Thursday playlist shines a spotlight on 1980.
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I saw Lou Reed (b. March 2, 1942) in concert once. During the show someone in the audience yelled out a song request. “Sweet Jane!”, he yelled. Lou Reed heard the request and responded in the most Lou Reed of ways, using his Lou Reed voice and intonation to say “Gee, that’s original. How long did it take you to think of that?” I said to the person with whom I attended the show “Yell out ‘Walk on the Wild Side.’ It’ll be funny.” He declined. Chicken! Lou Reed did play “Walk on the Wild Side” later in the show. He did not perform “Sweet Jane.”
Today’s playlist consists of thirty highlights from Lou Reed’s career.
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“Rock Lobster” appears on The B-52’s debut album, released in 1979. It was the group’s first single to make the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #56. One person who heard the track was a retired John Lennon. He heard the obvious influence of his wife’s music on the track, particularly in some of the vocal mannerisms employed by the B-52’s Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson. This inspired him to come out of retirement and record a new album with Yoko Ono. Their Double Fantasy album was released in 1980.
Here are 30 songs from The B-52’s including some extracurricular activities.
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Celebrating the February 24 birthdays of N.E.R.D.‘s Chad Hugo, Manfred Mann’s Paul Jones, Earl Sweatshirt, M People’s Mike Pickering, Rupert Holmes, Plastic Bertrand, George Thorogood, Barry Bostwick, Joanie Sommers, and 16 Horsepower’s David Eugene Edwards; the February 23 birthdays of Josh Gad, Japan’s David Sylvian, and Aziz Ansari; and the February 22 birthdays of Marni Nixon, Sublime’s Brad Nowell, Ernie K-Doe, Bobby Hendricks, Oliver and Guy Mitchell.
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“I’ll be Nina Simone and defecating on your microphone.” So rapped Ms. Lauryn Hill on Fugees’ “Ready Or Not.” As several of my friends could tell you, I tend to take things literally. I didn’t know much about Nina Simone at the time this Fugees single was released. All I knew is that she was a singer from the past who while on stage performing, apparently, would defecate on her microphone. I thought “Who wants to see that shit?” I bought Ms. Simone’s autobiography last year, in part to find out if she discusses this unusual show ritual, though I haven’t yet had the chance to read it. In preparing this post I looked up the “Ready or Not” lyrics on genius.com, where I learned that the lyric seemingly about Nina Simone’s defecation works in tandem with the line before it, which is “So while you imitating Al Capone.” What this means is that while other rappers are celebrating and emulating the life and crimes of a white gangster, Ms. Hill will aspire to follow in the footsteps of a great Black cultural artist. In other words, Nina Simone did not actually defecate while performing. Ms. Lauryn Hill did.
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