Daily 80's - December 31st

The ultimate way to end a decade is a song about a timelord. Or at least a song based on the theme song for a TV show with a timelord.

This was a giant hit for The Timelords overseas, but a very minor 80's hit here in the US. But with the current version of Dr. Who going into a 5th season soon, I figured many should be familiar with the theme song by now. Myself, I remember the weird tunnel-like intro from the 70's. Such a strange show - but so good.

Anyways, back to the 80's with Doctorin' The Tardis. Happy New Year...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 30th

Tomorrow night will be goodbye to the 00 decade. The decade no one in radio knows what to call.

Is it the O's? The zero decade? Hmmm. That's why a lot of station's slogans have been the "80's, 90's, and Now", "now" being a great way to avoid naming the decade.

So how about a goodbye song to the decade. Here's a good one. Arcadia's second hit.

And a really weird video to go along with it. It's a time thing though, so I love it (I'm a fan of anything time travel related).

Tomorrow will be another song about time. But for today, it's Goodbye Is Forever...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 29th

Paul Young might be known to people now as the character from the early seasons of Desperate Housewives. But in the early 80's, a very different Paul Young was all over the radio.

Everytime You Go Away was easily his biggest hit. But there were others.

I got The Secret Of Association album by Paul Young for Christmas in 1985. My favorite song off that was I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down.

The album version is good, but I've always liked the radio / single version even better. And luckily, the single version is what's featured in the video...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 28th

Agnetha Faltskog was the blonde A in ABBA.

When ABBA broke up in the early 80's, she attempted an English solo career (she had previously released a bunch of Swedish solo albums). She released three English language albums in the 80's but only managed two hit singles in the US.

The second was an AC hit in the late 80's with Peter Cetera. The first was Can't Shake Loose, which barely made it into the top 30. Not quite as impressive as what she did with ABBA, but it's a good song and deserves to be heard. Enjoy...



You can find this song on Agnetha Faltskog's album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 27th

Rick Springfield had a whole herd of hits in the early and mid-80's.

But because Jessie's Girl and Don't Talk To Strangers gets played so often now, the others don't get heard much on the radio (if at all).

This is one of the unheard ones. And it's one of the songs towards the end of his string of 80's hits. In 1985, you probably heard it on the radio and saw it on MTV. Here's Celebrate Youth...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 26th

It's the Play Misty For Me song of the 80's.

Charlie Dore had a lot more success writing for other artists like Celine Dion, Sheena Easton, Barry Manilow, and Tina Turner than she did with her singing career. But I'm sure happy she gave us this song.

The single was released in 1979, but the song made it into the top 20 in 1980. It's Pilot Of The Airwaves...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 25th

I can't share with you my banana cream pie that I'm eating today. Which works out good - more for me.

But I can share this with you - The Sound Of Musik, a 1986 dance hit from Falco.

Merry Christmas...



You can buy the "symphonic" or live version of this song as an amazon.com mp3 download. The live version is also available on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 24th

You're probably expecting a Christmas song today, but I'm all Christmas'd out. So instead, a holiday song - sort of.

The Other Ones reminded me a bit of The B-52's. The one big exception being The Other Ones were only relevant in the US for a few months while The B-52's have been around for a few decades.

Here's The Other One's hit.

Have a great Christmas and a happy "Holiday"...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 23rd

Do you remember the group Moving Pictures? If you do, you can probably only come up with one of their hits. And that would be the one that's today's 80's song.

Even though it was never a big hit, most people remember it. That's probably because it lingered on the charts for six months in 1982, even though it never got higher than #29. That's impressive.

The song is What About Me...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Morning show on The Lake...

In addition to being on-air at Star this week, I'll also be filling in on 107.7 The Lake. I'll be on the morning show from 6am -8am (through January 4th).

I'm familiar with the format because I also program Subterranean HD Radio, an Entercom HD2 station that airs in seven cities around the country. Subterranean features hits and obscure stuff from the 60's - 90's, with some occasional new songs thrown in too (similar to The Lake).

I think my favorite part of scheduling that station is throwing in the obscure 80's stuff. Why is so much of the 80's left unheard on the radio?!

Unfortunately, Subterranean isn't on-air here in Buffalo because we already have The Lake. It just wouldn't make sense to compete with ourselves.

Anyways, if you get a chance, check out my morning thing on The Lake this week. And then at night, I'll keep playing the Christmas music for you on Star 102.5.

Daily 80's - December 22nd

Today's 80's song is another of my all-time favorites. So naturally, it wasn't a giant hit (I think I must be a curse to songs when they're one of my favorites).

Times Two was one of the opening acts for Debbie Gibson in 1988, which probably helped make this song a hit. Thank you for that, Debbie Gibson!

It's Strange But True...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 21st

Whenever I play (I Just) Died In Your Arms, I always get calls afterwords asking about the song and the band. The band is Cutting Crew.

(I Just) Died In Your Arms was easily their biggest hit. Worldwide, their second biggest hit was the follow-up I've Been In Love Before.

The song after that - not such a big hit, but one of my favorites from them. From Broadcast, the same album as their first two hits, this is One For The Mockingbird...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 20th

Basia is awesome. And she's even more beautiful in person than in the video.

I met and saw her perform at the Melody Fair Theatre in 1990. That was a great show.

And she's still making great music! Check out A Gift from her latest CD It's That Girl Again.

This was one of her first hits and it's still my favorite Basia song. From 1988, it's Time and Tide...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 19th

Originally, I was only going to do the Daily 80's posts through Christmas. But everyone knows the Christmas season doesn't end at Christmas. Since it lingers right through New Year's Day, so will the 80's posts. Check back everyday for another awesome and usually obscure 80's song.

Today is from one hit wonder (in the US) Wa Wa Nee. They did a little better in their homeland of Australia, managing six singles. Here, there's only the one.

A second single was released, but only made it to #86 on the US charts (since it didn't make it to the top 40, the band still qualifies for that illustrious one hit status).

The one hit was Sugar Free from 1986...



You can buy this song on iTunes (the 12oz Mix is the radio version).

Daily 80's - December 18th

How's this for a collection of artists? Adam Ant, Phil Collins, and ABBA.

That's what you get when you listen to one of Adam Ant's 1983 hits. Only in the 80's - lol!

Phil Collins is on the drums and Anni-Frid (Frida) of ABBA does the spoken part for Adam Ant's hit Strip...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Survivor: Samoa's Monica...

Survivor 19 is getting ready to wrap up. Tonight and Sunday will be the final two episodes of the season. Tonight I talked with Monica Padilla, the latest Survivor cast-off.

On-air she talked about her threat to Russell and what she's based her final vote on.

Off-air, Monica went into a lot more detail on this season. She revealed some Ponderosa secrets, how her eating habits have changed thanks to the show, and of course her opinion of Shambo (who's been a major focus of the show this season).

I also asked her about Ben's accusal of Jaison being a - supposedly - very prejudiced person (which Ben said when I talked with him earlier this season). She didn't have any interactions with Ben during the game, but she did know Jaison well enough to shed some light on this.

Hear the full 8-plus minute interview with Monica here.

To see the Ponderosa videos she talks about (where the cast-offs go after being voted off), visit the CBS website.

And as we get ready for the finale on Sunday, catch up with some of the other interviews from this past season...

Ashley Trainer (5th voted off)

Russell Swan (removed from the game due to injury)

Ben Browning (3rd voted off)

Marisa Calihan (1st voted off)

Daily 80's - December 17th

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark has reunited!

The two original members of the group have been working on a new album which will be released sometime in 2010.

You can hear a demo of their new song Sister Marie Says on OMD's Myspace page. While it's definitely got an 80's feel, I'm not a big fan of it.

Instead, I'd rather hear their 80's stuff. Here's something from their 1988 The Best Of OMD album. It's Dreaming...



You can buy this song as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 16th

Today's 80's song should have been a bigger hit than it was. One of the group's members wrote songs that became hits for Tina Turner and Pat Benatar. Another helped write Animotion's biggest hit Obsession and would eventually become one of Animotion's singers in the late 80's.

And yet, Device's biggest hit barely made it into the top 40. And then the group pretty much disappeared.

Here's their only top 40 hit Hanging On A Heart Attack...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 15th

Tommy Page was kind of considered the 6th New Kid On The Block. Two of the songs on his 3rd album are a collaboration with members of that group.

In 1990, Tommy Page had his first and only #1 hit in the US with I'll Be Your Everything. That would be another one of the very few songs on my soft rock favorites list.

He had other good songs even before that though. Here's one that was played in dance clubs in the late 80's. It's A Zillion Kisses from 1988...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 14th

Katrina & The Waves.

So be honest, was the first song that popped in your head when you heard that group Walking On Sunshine? That's the case with most people I would imagine, myself included. But they did have a few other hits. Unfortunately, the others ones never seem to get played.

While Walking On Sunshine is definitely my favorite (especially the extended mix), the song that was released after that was also good. Remember Do You Want Crying from 1985? Here it is...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 13th

Hall & Oates have been getting a lot of publicity lately thanks to their excellent publicists who are hyping up the Hall & Oates box set that just came out in October.

In the meantime, Daryl Hall's solo stuff has pretty much been forgotten. But not by me.

With the help of producer Dave Stewart (half of the Eurythmics), Daryl Hall released his second solo album in 1986. It only resulted in two hits. Here's one of them. Foolish Pride...



You can find this song on Daryl Hall's album Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 12th

Here's the ultimate in one hit wonders. Today's group only had one single release. No album and no other single. Just the one release. It was a double A side release, but the other song never charted.

Depending on which version of the song you listen to, there's anywhere up to 30 different songs being sampled in the various versions. Wow.

Let's Pump Up The Volume with M/A/R/R/S...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 11th

What song did Cyndi Lauper and the Bangles sing together on?

The answer is today's 80's song. The Bangles sang the background vocals on the second single from Cyndi Lauper's second album.

From 1986, it's Change of Heart...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 10th

The highlight of a Depeche Mode concert is when they launch into this song and then keep going for upwards of ten minutes. The sad part is it usually means the concert is nearing the end.

The song is Never Let Me Down Again, definitely not their biggest hit, but one that totally captures the essence that is Depeche Mode.

By the way, Depeche Mode recently released their third single from their twelfth studio album - it's Fragile Tension / Hole To Feed (a double A-side single) from Sounds of the Universe. I like Fragile Tension a lot better than Hole To Feed. But it can't come close to Wrong, my favorite from the latest album.

For now though, here's Never Let Me Down Again...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 9th

Sa-Fire was known for freestyle music in the 80's and 90's. But my favorite song by her - a ballad.

And I'm not normally a fan of slow music. Working at a soft rock station in Rochester for three years kind of made me soft rock'd out for life.

But this is a such a great song, it's worthy of being an exception. From 1989, Thinking Of You...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 8th

I first remember hearing Roger Christian playing a dance version of this song during the lunch hour show on Majic 102 in the late 80's.

When the song first became a hit in the US, the band had already split up. So it ended up being their only hit.

This is one of my all-time favorite songs. It's One 2 Many's Downtown...



You can buy this song on iTunes.

Daily 80's - December 7th

Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy was the original lead singer of Duran Duran back when they were just playing local nightclubs. Stephen left the group in 1979, eventually being replaced by Simon Le Bon in 1980. One year after that, Duran Duran would hit the charts with their song Planet Earth.

After leaving the group, Stephen formed a couple different groups, one of them being Tin Tin. With that group, Kiss Me first became a minor hit overseas.

About two years later, Stephen recorded a solo album and re-recorded Kiss Me. Then he redid the song yet again about a year later and that's the version that would become his biggest hit. It wasn't anything close to what Duran Duran was doing on the charts, but he did make it on his own.

Here's Kiss Me...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 6th

In the mid 80's, everything seemed to be going great for Duran Duran. They had just taken a bit of a break for some side projects (Power Station and Arcadia) and were about to return to the studio to record a new album. Then ugliness hit.

Andy Taylor decided not to return, but didn't really tell the band. A lawsuit happened, forcing Andy to record a few tracks. But that was the end of Andy and Duran Duran in the 80's.

Shortly after all that mess, his first solo hit came out. It was the theme to the gymnast movie American Anthem in 1986. It ended up being the biggest solo hit of his career.

It's Take It Easy...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 5th

Last month, one of my posts had the video for Pseudo Echo's Funkytown. An awesome remake, but not the best Pseudo Echo song in my opinion.

Their best was a few months earlier in 1987 with a song called Living In A Dream. It got some airtime on MTV and alternative stations in the 80's, but never became a giant hit in the US.

If you like their Funkytown, I know you'll also like this. Pseudo Echo's Living In A Dream...



You can buy this song on iTunes. If you're a fan of long versions of songs, also check out their Long Plays 83 - 87 CD. The extended version of Living In A Dream is one of my favorite 12" singles of the 80's.

The Road...

I've been looking forward to the movie The Road for over a year now. It's based on the Cormac McCarthy book of the same name, which at one point was an Oprah book club selection. That's normally not something I'd like, but this sounds very different.

It's the story of a guy and his son and their travels after just about all life on earth has ended.

Some of the movie was filmed in desolate-appearing places like the abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnels (specifically the Sideling Hill Tunnel), Conneaut Lake Park south of Erie shortly after a fire decimated parts of the park, and even the Presque Isle State Park beaches.

The movie was supposed to come out last November and just kept getting pushed back over and over again until it finally was released last Friday. Visually, this looks like the kind of movie I want to see on the big screen (I caved and finally watched the preview today). Unfortunately, it's an extremely limited release and isn't playing in Buffalo.

Places nearby where it is playing is the Cinemark Tinseltown 17 in Erie, PA and a bunch of theaters in Toronto. Check Fandango for more info if you're up for a road trip to see a movie.

Here's the trailer...

Daily 80's - December 4th

The end of yesterday's video showed that this song was up next. Then it was in my head and I had to see the whole thing.

Even if you know nothing of the 80's, you've probably heard this song. The most notable sampling of it (at least in my world) was in Mariah Carey's 1995 hit Fantasy.

I remember seeing the video for this constantly between the movies and during the Video Jukebox show on HBO in the early 80's.

From 1981, it's Genius Of Love by the Tom Tom Club...



You can buy this song on iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 3rd

This had to be one of the most tiring videos ever to make. You'll see why.

Peter Wolf is the on again / off again lead singer for the J. Geils Band. His first big solo hit came in 1984 with Lights Out. Then three years later, he had his second and (so far) final top 20 hit on the mainstream charts with this. It's Come As You Are...



You can find this song on Peter Wolf's album Come As You Are. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.

Daily 80's - December 2nd

Another Irene Cara favorite today. After Flashdance, Irene Cara followed up with the top 20 hit Why Me.

I loved this one even more because it was the second 12" single I ever bought (the first being One Thing Leads To Another by The Fixx). The 7:02 version is equally as good as the original (which wasn't always the case with 12" singles - Duran Duran's Monster Mix of Is There Something I Should Know and the Hello, Goodbye Mix of Leave It by Yes being two examples of how bad some of them could be). This long version was done right.

Here's the official video with the single version from 1983...



Only the 12" Mix of this song is available on iTunes.

Amazing Race 16 has begun...

The race began this past Saturday in Los Angeles.

One of the teams spotted at the LAX airport was Jordan Lloyd and Jeff Schroeder from this past season of Big Brother (Jordan was the winner of Big Brother 11).

Check out this Facebook page for a picture of them waiting to leave the airport. There's also another picture showing some of the airport chaos and one of the other teams.

Amazing Race 16 will most likely air during the first few months of 2010 on CBS.

And don't forget about the Amazing Race 15 finale on CBS this Sunday night at 8pm. Here's the preview...

Daily 80's - December 1st

Chances are, if you recognize this song, you're either one of the group's members or you've heard occasional bits and pieces of it in the background on Star 102.5. It was such a great 80's song, but never charted.

It did make it to MTV though. But that's not how I found out about it. I worked at an alternative station in Rochester at the time (90.5 WBER) and they were tossing a bunch of their records. This was one of them. I couldn't allow this awesome song to just be trashed. I'm happy I saved it as it became one of my favorite songs from the 80's.

In the 90's, I finally bought the album this came from. Why this group (or at the very least this song) never got radio play is a mystery to me.

The song has a definite Pet Shop Boys / Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark feel to it. From 1987, it's The Pop Tarts and Another Grey Day In London...



You can find this song on The Pop Tarts' album Age Of The Thing. The single isn't available on either iTunes or as an amazon.com mp3 download.