I realized a day or so ago that, in order for me to catch up to the present before my birthday, I’d have to post a playlist almost every day between now and the time I turn 40.
That ain’t happenin’.
I’m certainly not a mathematician, and symmetry has never been a strong suit of mine, so there’s a good chance that a few (or many) playlists will spill into the “new year”, as it were.
Shit happens.
Meantime, here are a few fun facts I’d like to present to you as I unveil the 1981 playlist.
1981 is when I discovered that I lived three blocks away from a record store. It was called Carl’s Records, and the proprietor (Carl, natch) was a super nice guy. He often gave me free 45s. Many, many, many years later, I realized that one big reason Carl was nice to me (outside of me being a cute-as-fuck 5 year old) was that he was running around on his wife with a relative of mine. That relative, conveniently, was often the one I accompanied to Carl’s Records. So, I guess it’s fitting that the first 45 I remember getting for free was Larry Graham’s “Just Be My Lady”. As Larry’s most famous acolyte would sing later in the ‘80s…SCANDALOUS!!!
Speaking of Carl’s Records (and the Purple One), I also remember walking into his store (with a relative, or several relatives) one night and being scared shitless by a couple of album covers. I carried on so loudly that the record sleeves were eventually covered up. Strangely, the two titles in question would go on to become some of my favorite albums of all time; Dirty Mind and Grace Jones’ Nightclubbing.
The Jacksons’ Triumph tour ran during the summer of 1981. I remember hearing a commercial for it on the radio, and my grandmother remarking to one of my uncles that he should take me to it (yes, folks–even back then, my MJ love ran strong.) He didn’t take me–and that was the closest I ever came to seeing Michael Jackson in concert during my lifetime.
One big development-for some people-was the debut of MTV in August 1981. It certainly wasn’t a development for me or my folks. Number one, we didn’t have cable. Number two, I don’t think MTV even stretched out to Brooklyn until 1983. I wasn’t able to sit in front of the TV and waste hours watching music videos until–1994; when I was already living on my own and paying for cable out of my own damn pocket! Actually, that’s not true. But we’ll get to that in a few years.
On December 25th, 1981, I received what is still the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten; a Fisher-Price record player. For the next three or so years of my life, that little machine was the nexus of my activity. Fuck going out to play (even though I was made to do so), I wanted to spin records. If there’s one particular moment that pointed the way to the rest of my life, this may have very well been it.