"RUN" NEW ORDER (1989)

March 30, 2022

It’s time to get back to my favorite decade. For the month of March, I’ll be looking back at some of my favorite jams from the 80s. These songs often came to me via MTV or the radio. NYC-area stations WDRE, WPLJ, WNEW, K-ROCK and Z100 introduced me to everything from irresistible pop confections to under-the-radar post-punk anthems. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for the 80s. It was the decade when I discovered music can be a truly powerful thing. #31DaysOf80sSongs

Power, Corruption & Lies is generally considered the band’s greatest album. “Age of Consent” and “Your Silent Face” are undoubtedly some of New Order’s finest songs. But when you look at the entire body of work, I think Technique is a stronger, more cohesive album. The moment I got the CD I couldn’t stop listening to it. And I always played it start to finish. On the contrary, I do a lot of track-skipping when I play Power, Corruption & Lies. There’s not a single letdown on Technique, including Track 6: “Run”.

Technique, as a whole, has a very dance-centric persona. The band’s time in Ibiza influenced the sound tremendously, which made fast dance tracks like “Round & Round” and “Mr. Disco” as well as mid-tempo numbers like “Run” and “Love Less” feel exceptionally consistent. It was a moment in time where New Order sounded different than what came before and what followed afterwards. “Run” seemed to put us in a daydream state. Sumner sang in his sweet spot while his guitar riff in the instrumental interlude seems to lash out and lament.

“You work your way to the top of the world. Then you break your life in two.”

"HAPPY HOUSE" SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1980)

March 29, 2022

Musicians and fans owe a lot to this band. Siouxsie and the Banshees pushed boundaries musically and stretched our imaginations. Much like The Cure, they created a world you could get lost in. That world seemed cinematic at times (“Dazzle”, “Cascade”), occasionally perilous (“Spellbound”, “Cities in Dust”), and ecstatic at other moments (“Peek-A-Boo”, “Kiss Them For Me”). They created sweeping, biting, haunting post-punk expressions no one else was able or at least willing to create. One of their all-time classic anthems appeared in 1980 with a new lineup. The song is “Happy House”.

McKay was a special guitarist, but the new guy, John McGeoch, more than held his own. Here he plays edgy. He also plays atmospheric. And he fits right in. Budgie also joined the band around this time. Listen to the drum parts on “Happy House” carefully. Those are reggae-infused rhythms and beats that are giving the song fits and added dimension. The biting sarcasm of the song isn’t complete without it. One word about Severin’s bass playing here. skittish. He starts high up on the neck a la Peter Hook, then carries this epic track along while Siouxsie sings part psychotic, part flirtatious. Incredibly irresistible.

“We've come to scream in the happy house. We're in a dream in the happy house.”

"RED SECTOR A" RUSH (1984)

March 28, 2022

Grace Under Pressure is rarely mentioned among Rush’s best albums. On the surface, it seems that other recordings were able to assert a more clearly defined musical agenda, including Hemispheres, 2112, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Signals, among many others. But one could argue that Grace Under Pressure is where Rush started to put multiple musical explorations together unlike any of their other albums. While Signals was almost exclusively synth, Grace Under Pressure is where Lifeson’s guitar-driven attack collided with Lee’s synth explosions. You can hear it loud and clear on “Red Sector A”.

Uncharacteristic of the band, there isn’t a single bass line to be found on this song. Instead Lee focused solely on creating calculating synth jams and singing the harrowing story of life inside a prison camp. Meanwhile, Lifeson and Peart led the attack on guitar and drums, building a soundscape that washes over you. What’s more profound beyond the music is the influence of “Red Sector A”, which bears a striking resemblance to the epic musicality of Muse.

“All that we can do is just survive. All that we can do to help ourselves is stay alive.”

"MORE THAN THIS" ROXY MUSIC (1982)

March 27, 2022

Many bands have covered this song over the years. But one thing they haven’t been able to do is capture the unique sound of Roxy Music. This is a band that gave the music world an unusual, progressive rock tilt in the 70s, then elevated pop music in the 80s. “More Than This” was a prime example of the latter. You can’t copy Bryan Ferry’s vocals and you wouldn’t even try. And you can’t mimmic the intricate instrumentation because the soul of the song is Roxy Music, not just the melody.

Like many tracks from the Avalon album, “More Than This” is more akin to a gorgeous symphony than a rock song like the band’s early stuff. No one instrument overpowers the rest. Like lovers finishing each other’s sentences, each instrumental interlude seems to answer the other – from Manzanera’s understated guitar strums to Ferry’s airy synth arrangements to Mackay’s sax flourishes. Roxy Music’s “More Than This” achieves a delicate balance that no cover has been able to recreate.

“It was fun for a while. There was no way of knowing, like a dream in the night. Who can say where we're going. No care in the world, maybe I'm learning why the sea on the tide has no way of turning.”

"SOUVENIR" OMD (1981)

March 26, 2022

OMD will forever be known as a John Hughes-era music staple. They penned one of the most famous 80s movie soundtrack songs, “If You Leave”, and topped it off with plenty more standout tracks like “Dreaming”, “Forever (Live and Die)” and “Secret”. But I think all that Brat Pack-fueled success almost did a disservice to the band. It overshadowed what they accomplished artistically in their first three albums, including Architecture & Morality, a vastly underrated album which contains a fantastic single called “Souvenir”.

Some of the best songs are the ones that envelope us into the ether. They transport us. Anywhere, but where our physical bodies may be. While few people would classify OMD as a post punk band, what they were doing on “Souvenir” was very post-punk in their mentality. The instrumentation was much more nuanced and layered in various synth sounds. And the song conjured up multiple emotional states, including euphoria, indifference and sadness, all in under four minutes. Structurally, it was anything but obvious, substituting a vocal chorus with the signature synth hook.

“My obsession. It's my creation. You'll understand. It's not important now.”

"JUST LIKE HONEY" THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN (1985)

March 25, 2022

Songs are peculiar little things. They make us feel things. Happy feelings. Sad feelings. Angry feelings. And sometimes they prompt rather extreme emotions, like sheer euphoria or utter outrage. The lyrics, of course, play a big role in this. Words have power. But words aren’t always necessary as we’ve seen throughout music history – from Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” masterpiece to The Doors’ “Moonlight Drive”. The musical arrangements and instrumentation can be just as powerful. This is especially true with the 80’s anthem “Just Like Honey”.

I discovered The Jesus and Mary Chain a good four years after “Just Like Honey” was released. My favorite radio station WDRE (formerly WLIR) was giving the frenetic, electric “Head On” decent airplay and I just couldn’t get enough. My introduction to the band immediately gave me the feeling that they wanted to take me on a ride. “Head On” was like a demon-possessed roller coaster – and the thing wouldn’t stop. But “Just Like Honey” was more like a carousel of bliss. It seems to swirl around indefinitely in a hazy slo-mo daze. And once I’m on, i don’t ever want to come down.

“Walking back to you is the hardest thing that I can do.”

"TEA IN THE SAHARA" THE POLICE (1983)

March 24, 2022

Synchroncity is an anomaly in music history. It contains some of The Police’s biggest hits, including “Every Breath You Take” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger”. These songs were accessible for a wider audience. But this same album also birthed some of the band’s most experimental tracks, including “Mother” and “Miss Gradenko”. Synchronicity spanned several genres, from hard rock (“Synchronicity II”) to jazz (“Murder By Numbers”). But, more than anything, it was a study in space. The Police knew how to use space to their advantage as good as any other band out there. “Tea in the Sahara” is a solid case in point.

The song theme is inspired by a book that Sting read by Paul Bowles called “The Sheltering Sky”. There’s a story within the greater story about three sisters who wait to have tea in the Sahara with a prince. It’s a story of gratification and dreams pursued, achieved, and lost again. The story required an atmospheric approach to the instrumentation, which Andy Summers created through space and layers. His guitar thrives in open space with a series of feedback expressions and echoes that immediately transport us into the scorching desert. Copeland’s percussion approach is light and airy like the Sahara sand. “Tea in the Sahara” is a soundscape that appears like a mirage and then seems to vanish into thin air in an instant.

“We have this strange obsession. You have the means in your possession.”

"LOVE COMES QUICKLY" PET SHOP BOYS (1986)

March 23, 2022

The year “West End Girls” soared to the top of the charts in the U.S. was momentous. Most synth pop outfits gained their following on the fringes. Pet Shop Boys, in contrast, broke through the ceiling. The single was an anomaly, but in many ways the rest of the Please album was more substantive. Three other singles came off the album: “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)”, “Suburbia” and “Love Comes Quickly”. The latter is one of my all-time favorite PSB tracks and the song that gets today’s nod on the Mental Jukebox.

“Love Comes Quickly” is a dance song, but not in the fast, upbeat tempo that many other PSB songs employ, like “Always On My Mind”, “So Hard”, “Domino Dancing” and “It’s A Sin”. “Love Comes Quickly” was a quiet groove that settles in mid-tempo at the beginning and stays there. The synth bass hooks lure you in, but it’s the lyrics and Tennant’s tenor vocals that are the spotlight. I saw a YouTube video of their London Royal Opera House performance of the song two years ago. Tennant goes down an octave only on the one line that soars into the stratosphere in the original studio recording: “You can fly away to the end of the world. But where does it get you?” Other than that, he sounds remarkably sharp – and, together with Lowe, prove the resiliency of their brand of synth pop near 40 years later.

“Sooner or later, sooner or later, this happens to everyone.”

"PALE SHELTER" TEARS FOR FEARS (1982)

March 22, 2022

Like many young kids in America during the eighties, my first exposure to Tears For Fears was Songs From The Big Chair, not The Hurting. Songs like “Shout”, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, “Head Over Heels” and “Mother’s Talk” were unavoidable if you had MTV. Each song had its own unique flavor, but all the flavors unmistakably came from the same chefs. Hearing Songs From The Big Chair first made the discovery of The Hurting that much more of a delight. It possesses an incredibly mature sound for a debut album, and “Change”, “Mad World” and “Pale Shelter” are still some of my favorite songs to this day.

“Pale Shelter” was one of two songs that Tears For Fears recorded as a demo that eventually got them a record deal. It was the song that got them noticed, and one of a handful of tracks that has earned them enormous respect among fans over the years. “Pale Shelter” is timeless. It doesn’t sound a day old, even 40 years later. TFF did it with the dual vocal attack from Smith and Orzabal, where backing vocals carry just as much weight as the lead parts. From the guitar strums to the keyboard swirls, every instrumental element glides and glistens on the song. “Pale Shelter” is produced to perfection.

“How can I be sure when your intrusion's my illusion?”

"SHEILA TAKE A BOW" THE SMITHS (1987)

March 21, 2022

One of my favorite rock bands of the 80’s, The Smiths were a short-lived phenomenon akin to a romantic fling. It was amazing while it lasted. It went by so fast, but the days were packed. In about a five-year period, the band produced four studio albums, a live album and a couple of compilations. Louder Than Bombs, in particular, was a favorite of mine, one that I remember often playing late into the night. It pulled together a series of disparate Smiths singles and their b-sides that didn’t appear on any of their studio albums. On a record where every track was a standout, some of those b-sides were a-side worthy. But today, I’m playing the Smiths anthem “Sheila Take A Bow” on the Mental Jukebox.

I picked this Smiths track because on top of being a great track it carries the added significance of being the last song that the band performed live. It’s the swan song and, although unintentional, it also has a sense of urgency to it. Marr’s guitar hooks soar high and hover low. Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce play one their more ambitious songs together. And Morrissey penned a lyrical masterpiece. “Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear. And don't go home tonight. Come out and find the one that you love and who loves you.” It’s as if the band knew all along this would be their last performance and that they would have to make every second of it count. As Sheila took her bow, Morrissey, Marr, Joyce and Rourke would take one final one as well.

“Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear.”

"THE GHOST IN YOU" THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS (1984)

March 20, 2022

Listening to Mirror Moves so many years later, it sounds to me like a near-perfect musical interpretation of the times. The baritone delivery of Richard Butler is one of the period’s most ownable voices. A warm assurance that there were probably few better decades than the 80’s to grow up in and grow in our love for music. While “Pretty in Pink” got all the soundtrack glory, Mirror Moves, in many ways, captured the essence of the Brat Pack era better than any other Psychedelic Furs album. It all started with the album opener “The Ghost In You”.

This is my favorite Psychedelic Furs track and one of my favorite 80’s songs period. I can listen to it over and over again, getting swept up in those euphoric arpeggios on the keyboards and a melody that’s one for the ages. For me, “The Ghost In You” seems to exist in a time capsule. Locked away to preserve its beauty and form, it seems like it hasn’t aged one bit. But every once in a while, you have to pull it off the shelf, give it a good dust-off, and play it to remember just how good we had it.

“Inside you the time moves, and she don't fade.”

"THE SWEETEST TABOO" SADE (1985)

March 19, 2022

The crossover phenomenon is an interesting one in the music world. It’s not something easily understood because crossover success isn’t a formula. Sometimes it appears like there’s no rhyme or reason to why certain songs or bands found their way across the aisle into other genres with immediate acceptance and success. In the case of Sade, her crossover success from her soul and jazz roots was the song “Smooth Operator”, an irresistible jazzy little thing with equally irresistible pop elements. It opened the door for me to discover that “Smooth Operator” was just the tip of the iceberg. Now there are at least a dozen other Sade anthems that I think are better, including “The Sweetest Taboo”.

There’s immediate intrigue from the get go on this track with those rim and snare hits. It feels jazzy, but then the opening guitar riff opens the door to a more sophisti-pop stance. I first came across “The Sweest Taboo” when I bought “The Best of Sade”, a compilation effort that chronicled a remarkably consistent career. The song’s theme is nothing unusual. The idea that someone’s love can bring out the best in you is very relatable. But the way Sade expressed this notion was unique. Those words “the sweetest taboo” rang like poetry. And what made the track stick in our minds was these instrumental flourishes – from the horn arrangements to the piano interludes.

“Every day is Christmas, and every night is New Year’s eve.”

"SECOND SKIN" THE CHAMELEONS (1983)

March 18, 2022

I consider myself pretty well versed in the music of the 80’s. It’s the decade when I discovered my love for music, which can get a little extreme at times. That said, it’s a little humbling and slightly embarrassing that I never even heard of The Chameleons until I came across Interpol in the early 2000s. Interpol didn’t define post punk, but they were the kings of it in the post-9/11 era. So when I heard a little known band called The Chameleons helped influence their direction, I knew I had to review their catalog, starting with the well respected Script of the Bridge and the track that batted cleanup: “Second Skin”.

If albums like Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics can blow my mind in the early 2000s, then that makes songs like “Second Skin” that much more impressive as a song twenty years before these Interpol classics. Here, The Chameleons didn’t try to sound like Joy Division. They carved out their own signature post punk sound out of the ether. The guitars on “Second Skin” soar with ecstasy and then crash down in misery. The drums pound away like nails in a coffin. Mark Burgess, all the while, sings the refrain in the chorus like a man possessed. “Second Skin” crawls under your skin and then once it gets in there, it simply refuses to climb back out.

“I realize a miracle is due. I dedicate this melody to you.”

"LIVE TO TELL" MADONNA (1986)

March 17, 2022

It’s impossible to revisit the 80s without encountering the imprint that Madonna had on the decade. She wrote, performed and produced one of the most prolific pop catalogs in history. Her style and persona were larger than life – like a modern day Marilyn Monroe. And she was not without her controversies, including her Confessions Tour where she managed to piss off a number of different religious groups and music critics alike with a single stunt. Madonna simulated Christ’s crucifixion, but she was the one with the crown of thorns and the one lying on the cross. I thought it was, well, unnecessary. But it doesn’t take away from the brilliance of the song she performed: “Live To Tell”.

Madonna has said that it was her greatest ballad. In the 80’s, she didn’t have many of them. Most of her catalog – especially the well known songs – were cruising along either as fast-paced dance tracks or mid-tempo radio darlings. I’m not a huge pop fan, but I can’t deny the gorgeous melodies and hooks from “Papa Don’t Preach”, “La Isla Bonita”, “Borderline”, “Dress You Up”, and the list goes on and on. But my favorite Madonna song from the era was “Live To Tell” because the ballad pace was absolutely gripping. Every snare hit and keyboard chord carried this weight to it. It truly felt like Madonna’s personal confession, one that I couldn’t avoid listening to intently even if I tried.

“I know where beauty lives. I've seen it once, I know the warmth she gives.”

"THE ONE THING" INXS (1982)

March 16, 2022

Michael Hutchence is one of the greatest frontmen in rock history. He was the band’s persona. The co-songwriter. The lead vocalist. The spokesperson. And everything about the way he performed, partied and lived his life with the pedal to the metal said he was a rock star – all the way to his death. Like a Gen X version of Jim Morrison. I think people in the States forget how prolific INXS was. They had a steady stream of great tracks from ‘82 with Shabooh Shoobah all the way through ‘92 with X. “Don’t Change” is the song most remember from Shabooh Shoobah, but my favorite from that album has always been “The One Thing”.

Tim Farriss’ guitar riff might be the most memorable element of the song, but it’s his brother Andrew’s masterful work on the keyboards and Kirk Pengilly’s explosive sax solo that differentiate the song, that make it a bit unexpected. Pengilly, in particular, looks and sounds like he’s having a fit while seemingly revving up his sax and pushing it to its absolute limits. The lead vocals from Hutchence is a study in versatility. In the verses he slings the lyrics around with his signature machismo, but then he inverts this approach in the chorus with a nearly catatonic approach. “The One Thing” is a song that pushes and pulls you relentlessly in its new wave splendor.

“Cut the night just like a razor. Rarely talk and that's the danger.”

"THE EDGE OF FOREVER" THE DREAM ACADEMY (1985)

March 15, 2022

In the States, The Dream Academy was a band that made a brief, but significant splash with their unique interpretation of early dream pop. You could tell which songs were Dream Academy songs by their ethereal and accessible brand of synth pop. “Life In A Northern Town” transported us to a time and place that seemed surreal. “The Salvation Army band played. And the children drunk lemonade. And the morning lasted all day.” Their cover of The Smiths’ “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” was a lighter, more buoyant version of the somber original. And then there was their minor hit: “The Edge Of Forever”.

The song may not have received an ounce of publicity if it weren’t for an unforgettable scene toward the end of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. While Ferris Bueller may have immortalized the track, there are a few things about “The Edge Of Forever” that marks it as a true relic of that generation on its own merits. Like “Life In A Northern Town”, the production helped the song to paint a picture. Co-produced by David Gilmour, this one was steeped in euphoric romanticism. It borrowed signature 80’s elements like a sax solo and synth-based instrumentation, but it did so in a way that wasn’t contrived or too familiar. Here, The Dream Academy created a dream state that you could easily get lost in.

“There's a million hearts beating in a row.”

"NEW RELIGION" DURAN DURAN (1982)

March 14, 2022

During my childhood, Duran Duran was one of my beloved bands. MTV helped bring these infectious songs to life with videos that felt like mini movies. And I remember on a family trip, my parents were walking inside the magnificent Leaning Tower of Pisa. But not me. I was in a tour bus with my brother listening to Duran Duran’s Rio on my walkman. The songs gripped me. Simon Le Bon was one of the great lead vocalists of that era. And every band member had legit skills – from Nick Rhodes’ dreamy synth scapes to John Taylor’s funk-driven bass lines. These guys weren’t just a bunch of pretty boys. Everyone knows “Hungry Like The Wolf” and “Rio”, but the entire Rio album had several classics, including “The Chauffeur”, “Save a Prayer” and a lesser celebrated track called “New Religion”.

The second you play the song, you’ve entered another dimension. Rhodes kicks things off with a sense of mystique and mystery. Something interesting is about to happen on my walkman. Then Andy Taylor and John Taylor lead us through a spiraling labyrinth. It’s like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, except my ass is still firmly planted on the tour bus coach seat. I can see the tower out the window, but in my mind a music video is playing: scenes of the band scrambling and climbing over each other to get to the top of the tower where liberation is waiting. I found it, too, inside that stuffy tour bus.

“I've something to see, I can't help myself. It's a new religion.”

"EVERYTHING COUNTS (LIVE AT ROSE BOWL)" DEPECHE MODE (1988)

March 13, 2022

Some bands have a way of becoming our life soundtracks. We don’t just love the way the songs sound, we love the way they make us think. The way they make us feel. They way they make us move. For my high school years, Depeche Mode – among other bands – was that soundtrack. I was a bit of a late bloomer. I started with the record and documentary release of Depeche Mode 101 – and then went backwards from there, discovering Music For The Masses, Black Celebration and Some Great Reward. But 101 was the game-changer. I never heard a synth pop outfit hold its own as an arena rocker. Depeche Mode rocked Pasadena and the whole nation – and the album closer just completely sealed the deal for me as a fan: “Everything Counts”.

Listening to the song on its original album release – Construction. Time Again – it’s evident that the band struck gold in a couple of key spots, but they were still forming their identity. As one of the standouts on the album, “Everything Counts” showcased the iconic persona of Depeche Mode: hook-laden, danceable, infectious, and, often at times, dark. Written by Martin Gore, the song went on the offensive, calling out corporate greed with a somewhat satircal approach. The bass synth part is utterly sinister, lurking with precision from beginning to end. Wilder’s synth hook – sometimes played on a xylophone – sounds like a music toy possessed by an evil spirit, which is flanked by quirky instruments that go beyond DM’s typical keyboard decks, including a melodica. Then there’s Gahan. With his signature bass vocals, Gahan is the narrator and antithesis of Gordon Gekko.

“The grabbing hands, grab all they can.”

"POP LIFE" PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION (1985)

March 12, 2022

I think one of the more fascinating song themes is the topic of dealing with fame. Various artists have dealt with it in their own ways. Keane’s “Everybody’s Changing”. Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”. Rush’s “Limelight”. And, of course, David Bowie’s “Fame”. These are songs written from experience and come from the heart. They’re not sugar-coated by any means. Maybe that’s why I find this particular song topic so fascinating. In 1985, Prince released his own take, which appeared on the Around The World In One Day album. The song is called “Pop Life”, a track that was recorded even before Purple Rain was finished. It happens to be one of my all-time favorite songs from the artist.

“Pop Life” was a bit of a departure for Prince. Prior to Around The World In A Day, he had made quite a name for himself with the melodies he wrote and the instrumental arrangements he crafted. But “Pop Life” wasn’t really known for either of those things. The song relied on its tell-all persona and its simple groove created by a few sparse, but well-placed elements. That opening synthesizer. The slap and pop bass. Wendy and Lisa’s nearly despondent backup vocals. And a couple of unforgettable samples, including one with a restless crowd where someone yells “Throw the bum out!”. “Pop Life” threw the curtain open and showed us Prince’s view into a world he was immersed in and surrounded by. An absolute treasure.

“Is the mailman jerking you 'round? Did he put your million dollar check in someone else's box?”

"GOUGE AWAY" PIXIES (1989)

March 11, 2022

Ahh, Doolittle. One of the greatest albums of all time. I’ve probably played it hundreds of times and never get bored. There may be no greater collection of two-minute bangers than this precursor to grunge. The Pixies were great not because they thrashed, wailed and screamed, although they did all those things. They were great because they would change tempos and the sonic demeanor of a song on a whim. They were the masters of quiet-loud-quiet dynamics, which made the thrashing, wailing and screaming that much more irresistable. “Gouge Away” is a case in point.

It really is hard to pick just one song from Doolittle, but “Gouge Away” gets the nod on today’s Mental Jukebox post because it was the album closer. It’s what made Doolittle finish on a high note. Everything on the track is extremely tactile. You can feel the pick on Joey Santiago’s guitar strums and hear the intonation crystal clear on Kim Deal’s bass lines. And, of course, there’s Black Francis – going from a small flicker of a flame to a bona fide three-alarm fire.

“Stay all day, if you want to.”