Saturday, October 13, 2012

#32 - Radioactive

Artist: The Firm
Album: The Firm
Video: From YouTube.

I had no awareness of this band in 1985.  Until just now, my only association was a John Grisham novel made into a Tom Cruise movie.  Either that, or The Fixx was misspelled.

But apparently, The Firm was a genuine British rock supergroup.  Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin.  The lead singer of Bad Company.  People from other 70's bands.  I guess they were going for a Traveling Wilburys Lite sort of thing.  Or they would have been, had the Wilburys existed in 1985.

"Radioactive" was their big smash hit, soaring all the way to #28 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It's a terrible song.  Dippy lyrics, lame music, haunted house sound effects.  The robotic repetition of the song's title.  Siri sings with greater emotion.

Anyway, The Firm broke up for good in 1986.  Fortunately, Jimmy Page had his experience of creating one of the greatest bands of all-time to fall back on.  Not that I had any idea about Zeppelin in 1985...of course, that was a weird thing about the year.  I've already covered my confusion about rock 'n' roll legends and their poor 1985 performaces.

The video is as forgettable as the song.  Just the band playing on an empty stage with a bunch of flashing strobe lights.  No storyline.  Poor.  Placed ridiculously, inappropriately high by MTV at #32. 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

#33 - The Old Man Down The Road

Artist: John Fogerty
Album: Centerfield
Video: From YouTube.

John Fogerty was sued for releasing this song, because it sounded a lot like "Run Through The Jungle", a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR).  You know who the lead singer and founder of CCR was?  JOHN FOGERTY.

Ridiculous.  It is an original.  From whom else would you have to hidey-hidey-hide?  The Grim Reaper, of course, cleverly disguised as "The Old Man Down The Road".

Peaking at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, this was the highest charting song from Fogerty's comeback album.  The song "Centerfield" is a timeless classic, but oddly it whiffed on both the MTV countdown and the Billboard top 40.

The video is a long sequence shot, beginning in the swampiest of jungle swamps.  The camera settles on a friendly kemosabe, who lifts a blanket to reveal a speaker with extension cord attached.  As the scene progresses, a variety of colorful characters are found along the path of this unusually lengthy cord.

After passing a couple having a picnic, a cheerleader at a call box, motorcycle riders, a pregnant woman, and a grave digger, the cord finally ends with Fogerty himself in a somewhat residential neighborhood, rocking out on his gee-tar.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

#34 - Head Over Heels

Artist: Tears For Fears
Album: Songs From The Big Chair
Video: From DailyMotion.  With annoying ads at the beginning and end, but it is the complete video.

This is the first of multiple appearances by Tears For Fears on this countdown.  TFF was kind of a big deal in 1985.

"Head Over Heels" was the third single from the "Songs From The Big Chair" album, and it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s a nifty tune.  The album name is a reference to Sybil, the character with multiple personality disorder who sought the comfort of her analyst's "Big Chair".

This is also the second consecutive video in the countdown filmed in Toronto, following Corey Hart.  That's just the type of in-depth research I go the extra mile to provide for you.

The video takes place in a library, an innovative setting for a music video.  Roland Orzabal carries a ridiculously large stack of books and sings loudly to an embarrassed librarian, blatantly disregarding the posted “SILENCE” sign.  Even the monkey in the Red Sox jersey has the decency to keep his yap shut.

Over the course of the video, wacky hijinks ensue, with all the band members getting into the act.  It ends dramatically on the lyric “funny how time flies”, with Orzabal and the librarian transform into an elderly couple, drinking tea and studying in a dignified manner.