The Jet Pilots Wailed.......

Rock The Casbah by The Clash

Released in June of 1982, this song reached #8 on the US charts, the bands only Top Ten single in the US. One day during recording of the album, Combat Rock, the drummer found himself alone in the studio so he started toying with an idea he had on the piano. By the time the other members had arrived, he had added drums and bass to the song and was coming up with lyrics.  The band's regular songwriting duo of Strummer and Jones were impressed with the music but not the lyrics and immediately set about to write some proper words to go with this great tune. Borrowing from the centuries long tension in the Middle East and a more recent event of Western music being banned from certain Islamic countries, the lyrics focus on a king trying to enforce a ban that seems to fail at every turn.

The hidden gem in this song is the watch alarm in the middle of the song that plays the song Dixie during one of the verses. Listen for it, it was added in carefully by the band.

The video was filmed in Texas while the band was on tour and follows the adventures of an Arab Sheik and a Hasidic Jew befriending each other (totally flying in the face of how the tension between these two groups is usually portrayed) as they head to see The Clash in concert. The band performs the song in front of an oil derrick and features guitarist, Mick Jones, hiding his face behind a veiled hat because he was in a bad mood on the day of the filming....not that his singer, Joe Strummer, cares much since he pulls Mick's hat off as the song is about to end.

Please enjoy....

It's George Lucas's Fault For All The Movie Sequels

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Released in May of 1980, this follow up and continuation of the hit 1977 film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was a much darker look at the Galaxy Far, Far Away. Coming off the huge success of A New Hope, George Lucas handed the directorial and writing duties to others so that he could focus on the producing duties. Lucas's former USC film school professor Irvin Kershner was brought in to direct and immediately added a richness to the film. Take a few moments during the movie to notice that the background is full of activity and characters. The extra characters in a lot of cases ended up getting action figures even without getting a line of dialogue in the movie.

Seriously, the three figures above were on screen for less that two minutes and only one said anything and that was just a growl sound.

The basic plot of the film is simple: The evil Galactic Empire finally gets back at the Rebels three years after the defeat of the Death Star. With the Rebels fleeing their current base, Luke Skywalker heads off to train with Yoda, the last living Jedi while Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO race to escape the Imperial fleet.

In the end, Luke comes to help save his friends from Darth Vader and has to confront Vader in a lightsaber duel.

And then hears one of the most famous lines in movie history.....which is usually misquoted.

Every one always quotes it as "Luke...I Am your Father". The correct line is "....No...I Am your Father".

"Empire" is still considered to be the best of all the Star Wars films with a great plot, great dialogue and a full frame of action going on in each scene, there's literally very few scenes that don't have things going on in the foreground, the background and all around the main characters. Its like this is a real world and these people really exist and that idea would carry forward in all the other Star Wars films and tv shows that have followed.

Ok now, I'm going to show you the trailer for The Empire Strikes Back and keep in mind that it was first released in the fall of 1979 and it looks like a product of that era. The film is obviously much better than the trailer. In any event......please enjoy. And may the Force be with you.

If You Do, Don't Try Driving.

Sunglasses At Night by Corey Hart

Released in January of 1984, this song features a hypnotic synth hook and a simple, catchy chorus. Its no wonder it reached #7 on the US charts. It was Corey's first single and that made him an instant star and he admits that was a bit intimidating. But fear not Corey, fan adulation is a good thing. He only had one more top Ten hit in the US. Its back in his native country of Canada that he continues to make top 40 hit albums. Who can complain if they love ya at home?

The video for the song was based on an authoritarian society where anyone NOT wearing their sunglasses at night was arrested....ironic considering the lyrics of the song. It was the continual showing of the video on MTV that helped to make this song so popular and lets be honest.....when ever you see someone wearing sunglasses at night, this song immediately comes to mind. I know I sing it a bit when ever I see someone.

Please enjoy.

And When She's Walkin'........

Uptown Girl by Billy Joel

Released in September of 1983, Billy Joel had spent the mid to late 1970's establishing himself as the Piano Man and an accomplished songwriter whose ballads and rockers were instant hits. But it was now the 1980's and while his rock status was undeniable, he was feeling like he wanted to honor the music that inspired him as a kid in the 50's and 60's. This song captures the feel of 50's vocal bands with tight harmonies and do-whop background singers. Just listen to how he says "ti-yi-yime" and "my-yi-ind". He's channeling Frankie Valli.

Written from the perspective of a blue-collar working guy that is trying to woo an "uptown" rich girl, its both catchy and memorable all while being a simple toe-tapper. And that's how hits are made. As a result, it made it to #3 on the US charts.

The video stars Billy as a mechanic at a service station and he and the other mechanics are quite good at singing but only marginally good at choreography. Then a limo pulls up and out pops a supermodel, played by Christie Brinkley. She seems smitten but then I guess since they eventually ended up married, she was. They eventually divorced after 9 years together. The nice thing is that they both say they remain good friends. I guess she'll always be his Uptown Girl and he'll always be her singing mechanic.

Please enjoy.

The Wedding Of The (previous) Century

The Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana

On Wednesday the 29th of July, 1981 Charles, the future King of England married the 20 year old former kindergarten teacher, Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral in central London. More than half a million people lined the streets between Buckingham Palace and St. Paul's to witness the procession and over three quarters of a billion watched on world wide television, including myself. It was 3:30 in the morning where I lived and if I hadn't been out of school for the summer, I probably would have missed the big event.

The bride arrived in a glass coach and the crowd roared when they caught the first glimpse of her dress. The hand enbroidered dress was covered with 10,000 pearls and sported a 25 foot train....

...imagine sitting inside a glass coach, wheeling through London with that dress in your lap.

The ceremony was relatively error-free.....if you discount the fact that an obviously nervous Diana accidentally changed the order of Charles's names (he has 4! and technically no last name) calling him Phillip Charles Arthur George. But in the end it was the fairy-tale wedding that the world wanted.

The Prince and Princess of Wales would go on to have two sons, William born in 1982 and Henry (nicknamed Harry) born in 1984. 

Sadly, the marriage would be doomed. With both of the couple having affairs and eventually separating in 1992 and divorcing in 1996. Diana would die in an automobile accident in Paris in 1997 and her funeral would also be one of the most watched events on worldwide television, estimated to have a viewership of two billion people.

Watch the video below, its a bit longer than usual but covers the whole day. I will say this much, the British sure know how to do Pomp and Circumstance better than anyone.

Owwww...Badass...But Owwwwww

Eyes Without A Face by Billy Idol

Released in 1984 as the second single off his hit album, Rebel Yell. This ballad with an edge made it to #4 on the US charts. Notable for its dark lyrics, it borrows its title from a 1960 french horror film of the same name. The plot of the film is confusing and weird so don't bother.

For the video, Billy tricks us with the soft melody while showing us images sinister and dark. His sneer at the start of the video barely leaves his face while he sings about a sad relationship. Sure, he looks pissed but then Billy never looked like a softy to me. Only Billy could stand in a ring of fire, surrounded by hooded monks while singing about his lost love. Punks suffer heartbreak just like everybody else....just with more fire hoses and smacked butt cheeks.

Of note is the fact that the video was shot over nearly three days straight with Billy barely sleeping during the filming. The breakneck pace for the filming was attributed to the fact that immediately after the filming was completed, Billy flew off to Arizona to perform a concert. When he arrived in Arizona it was discovered that his contact lenses had fused to his eyeballs. Billy was rushed to the hospital and the lenses removed. He had to wear bandages on his eyes for three days and his scraped corneas healed, eventually. Testimony to the fact that you should never leave your contacts in for more than 24 hours.

Please enjoy. And pass the eye drops.

Why Should I Care?

Nothing Bad Ever Happens by Oingo Boingo

If you grew up in Los Angeles in the 1980's (like I did) you were exposed to the greatest radio station ever.....KROQ. They called themselves World Famous and they were.....only to the kids in LA. But what would eventually make KROQ World Famous was the fact that they played some of the best music long before anyone else did. This is just one of those great songs that we heard every day for, what felt like, years (if you tune into the station right now, you'll probably hear this song....just wait an hour or so).

The album, Good For Your Soul, was released in mid summer 1983 and only had one single released off of it....and this wasn't it. This song was such a hit on KROQ that the band ended up making a music video for it and everything. Being a band of weirdos, they made this video.....No one ever understands what is going on inside lead singer/main songwriter Danny Elfman's head, but it is filled with awesome songs and really weird images. Try to figure out what he's thinking in this video. There's a thief stealing all his stuff while he watches tv.....there are faces coming out of the wall.....Danny is a waiter serving his band members heads up as dinner in a restaurant.....Like I said, He makes great music. After the band broke up, Danny would go on to make a lot more great music as a composer for movie and TV soundtracks.

But for now, be glad he didn't become a film director. Enjoy.