The explosion of MTV’s “Unplugged” series, coupled with the arrival of hits like Extreme’s “More Than Words” and Queensryche’s “Silent Ludicity”, turned every former rocker into an acoustic-pickin’, harmony-singin’ sensitivo for a second in the early Nineties. As someone who rocks a little less hard than the average guy, this was music to my ears, and it led to my one and only moment of exposure to a band by the name of Saigon Kick. “Love is on the Way” […]
Hump Day Flashback
Hump Day Flashback: “All This Time”
Before there was Miley and Taylor and Selena, there was Britney and Christina and Jessica. Before that, there was Brandy, Monica and Aaliyah. And even before THAT, there was Debbie and Tiffany. Debbie Gibson and Tiffany were the pre-eminent teen girl stars of the Eighties. While young girls (and a handful of guys) tacked posters of New Edition, Menudo and New Kids on the Block on their walls, Debbie and Tiffany were the artists that these young girls (hell, and […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Twist of Fate”
“Two of a Kind” was the much ballyhooed return to the cineplex for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, a reteaming of the twosome who had made 1978’s “Grease” into a blockbuster…only without the musical numbers. Actually, “Kind” was something of a romantic comedy in which two somewhat dastardly regular people have to team up to save the world from destruction. I’m sure the studio had pretty high hopes when the film was released. After all, Olivia was coming off of […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Bang & Blame”
Today’s Hump Day Flashback was inspired by an e-mail conversation between myself and the awesomely talented and devilishly handsome Matt Wardlaw . Over the course of this conversation, it was revealed that R.E.M.’s “Monster” tour was the first arena concert I ever went to. It was a pretty mesmerizing event-Madison Square Garden, summer ’95. Several things I remember about the show: it got me to like Luscious Jackson enough that I went out and bought “Citysong” on CD single (although I never […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Can You Stand the Rain”
In light of my previous idea for a Hump Day Flashback turning into an actual article, I had to rethink my idea for this week’s column. Then inspiration hit via the emptying of the skies. I could probably fill a book with great songs about rain, but New Edition’s 1988 hit “Can You Stand the Rain” will always be at the very least in my Top 5, if not my favorite all-time. A song doesn’t have to be particularly deep […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Baby Love”
As I’m working my way through Madonna’s discography, it’s become apparent how many current pop stars borrow heavily from the template she set. What’s also apparent is that it took quite some time before the imitators started to come out of the woodwork-with one glaring exception. As Madge was going through the first of many reinventions-from trashy boy toy to blonde bombshell, an unknown by the name of Regina appeared on the scene boasting a name, a look, and a […]
Hump Day Flashback: Rick & Smokey Pay Tribute to “Ebony Eyes”
After “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” took the video world by storm in 1983, everyone and their mother realized the power of having a good narrative to accompany the visuals for their songs. Some of those people didn’t realize how much comedic value these videos would have years later. Case in point: Rick James & Smokey Robinson’s 1983 collaboration, “Ebony Eyes”. Flight-based narrative aside, this video is notable for several reasons. One, it never made it to MTV (the network […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Love Comes & Goes”
In a lifetime as a hip-hop fan, there have only been three noteworthy hip-hop acts from Boston that I can think of. First, of course, is Guru. The lyrical half of Gang Starr carried the torch for Beantown rappers until he passed away earlier this year. On the opposite end, there’s Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg, a guy who probably had no interest in being an emcee until his hip-hop junkie of an older brother suggested that might be the best […]
Hump Day Flashback: The System’s “This is for You”
Most people rightfully put Prince (and Stevie Wonder, of course),at the head of the class when it comes to making synthesizers commonplace in R&B music, but it’s also worth noting that there was a cool little salt-and-pepper duo called The System that were one of the first heavily electronic R&B groups to hit big in the Eighties. The average person remembers the duo (comprised of singer Mic Murphy and keyboardist David Frank) for their 1987 smash “Don’t Disturb This Groove”. […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Surfin’ Bird”
Sometimes I feel like maybe I’m too hard on music nowadays. It’s not like the novelty song started with “Laffy Taffy” or “Teach Me How to Dougie” or even “Tootsee Roll” and “Dazzey Duks”. Silly songs-whether dance instructionals or just nonsense tunes-have been around forever and, truthfully, some of the most important songs in rock history have been throwaway songs. “Louie Louie”, anyone? This brings us to “Surfin’ Bird”, the 1963 classic from The Trashmen that has become popular again […]
Hump Day Flashback: “When You Gonna Learn”
It was September 1993. I was working my first real job, at a short-lived Tower Records location on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Nirvana’s “In Utero” had come out maybe a week before, Mariah’s “Music Box” was riding high on the charts, and the store’s constant soundtrack came from a little known British soul band who wouldn’t achieve American success for nearly half a decade. Not too many people knew who Jamiroquai was around that time, but in our […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Sesame’s Treet”
You know how some folks look disdainfully on today’s music and say “Damn, anything could be a hit nowadays”? Well, guess what, people. That’s been the case for a long-ass time. To wit: the 1993 hit “Sesame’s Treet” by the British group Smart E’s. Their formula for chart success was as follows: take the theme from one of the greatest children’s shows of all time, throw a (then novel) techno/rave/house beat behind it and stir. Add in a video that […]