Song of the Day - Blue Monday - New Order

Good morning everyone!  I don't know about the rest of the country, but it is one gloomy, rainy, blustery Monday here in New York, and this is a perfect song for the day...

Song of the Day - Don't Stand So Close To Me - The Police

I started a new playlist on Spotify for this Quarantine and here's another one of my entries...Very appropriate, don't ya think? 

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Two Tribes - Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Today's song isn't posted really for music's sake.  I never really liked this second single by Frankie and the gang, but the video more than makes up for it.  It wasn't long ago that the Cold War was still a big threat to world peace and this video came as a warning of what could happen if it ever heated up.  Luckily, the Cold War ended, but in the years since then, Russia has proven to show it is still an adversary to us.

  It seems these days that many Americans forget just how much of an adversary the Soviet Union was, and still is.  Though the USSR no longer exists, Russia remains an oppressive state and its despotic leader continues to use Soviet-style strategies to spread Russia's influence far and wide, even here.  Imagine Putin and Trump replacing Yeltsin and Reagan in this video.  Would it still be the same, or would we see more of a tag team style match, the two of them against the world rather than a fight to the finish between them?  

One of the most surprising things of this era is that many on the right view Russia favorably, with a spike in that favorability rating coming in 2017 at 40% favorablity amongst Republicans.   (I wonder why!) Even more startling, there are a great number of Republicans who favor Russia over their fellow Americans, namely Democrats.  It should be no surprise to anyone why this statistic exists.  

While Putin's interference in our 2016 Presidential election should have been met with anger across all political affiliations, the side that won that election, no doubt partly due to this attack, seem to not care.  That, to me, is a very sad state of affairs and very telling of the state we are in today.  So for anyone reading, please watch the video and be reminded that even though the Cold War is long over, Russia is still not our friend and we should all, always, put country over party.  Here's Two Tribes...  

7 Days of Christmas Song of the Day - Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

I was out Christmas shopping yesterday and this classic new wavey Christmas jam came on the air.  I knew I had to post it.  Here are The Waitresses and Christmas Wrapping...

Song of the Day - Shake It Up - The Cars

Ugh, three days, two celebrity passings.  Just two days after the death f singer Eddie Money comes the sad passing of another, Ric Ocasek of the new wave band, The Cars.  The Cars made a big splash on the music scene in the late 70's and early 80's and had a string of hits during that time.  This fun one from 1981 appears on the soundtrack of one of my favorite 80's movies, The Last American Virgin.  Rest in Peace Ric!  Here's Shake It Up...

Song of the Day - Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

Well, we're ten days away from Christmas, and so I think it's time to get into the spirit here on John's Music World.  Here's one of my all time favorite Christmas songs...The Waitresses and Christmas Wrapping...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Friday I'm In Love - The Cure

I don't care if Monday's blue

Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too

Thursday I don't care about you

It's Friday I'm in love

Happy Friday!  Enjoy!

Song of the Day - Blue Monday - New Order

It's Monday, and so here's a classic song from the new wave era.  It's New Order and a rare live performance of the fabulous Blue Monday...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - The Metro - Berlin

I always say that when I go to Europe, I always hear songs that I haven't heard in years, and this past trip was no exception.  Between listening to the radio or hearing music on the street or just me and Amy singing old jams to each other, I heard all sorts of older songs, from Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go Go to Ludacris' Move Bitch Get Out Da Way to the Jackson 5's I Want You Back.  We even heard Miley Cyrus' Party In the U.S.A. in a club!  Strange!  

One song that stands out is Berlin's The Metro.  I believe it first came up on my third or fourth day in Lausanne, Switzerland, and I think it was just being on a train that put the song in our heads.  For an entire afternoon and then in sparse moments throughout (especially on the Paris subway!), the song just kept popping up.  And so, here's The Metro...

  

Pride Month Song of the Day - Monster - Fred Schneider

I first discovered this out of the mainstream song when I bought a B-52's greatest videos set way back in the early 90's.  Fred Schneider apparently did a solo album in 84 called The Shake Society, and this was its' only...hit.  Anyway, it's as fun as any B's song might be and even features fellow B Kate Pierson on vocals and in the video.  Well, so come check out the fun Monster...

A Christmas Song of the Day - Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

As we move another day closer to Christmas, here's one of my all time favorite holiday tunes.  The Waitresses were your typical new wave band, with a crazy, frenzied sound that was simply irresistible and this was one of two songs of theirs that are among new wave's best.  Check out the classic Christmas Wrapping...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Lover Come Back to Me - Dead or Alive

The follow-up single to the monster hit You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) was an even higher energy song that's as iconic of the band as its predecessor.  Great flashback and a perfect song to get your weekend started off right.  Here's Love Come Back to Me...

Song of the Day - In Too Deep - Dead or Alive

I could offer you a thousand things

But a lot of them you wouldn't bother

I could buy you ten real diamond rings

But I'm sure that you would want another

I could take a plane and I could fly away

I could, steal a car and I could drive away

But I'm in too deep 

There's no getting out of it

In too deep

No doubt about it

Ah memories!  We continue our week-long tribute to Pete Burns, who passed away suddenly on Sunday, with one of my favorite songs from Dead or Alive's Youthquake album.  This one brings me back to one of my favorite clubs from my heyday, a new wave/alternative joint called Spanky's.  Oh if I could only go back for just one night!  Great song, great place!  Check out In Too Deep...

Song of the Day - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record Baby) - Dead or Alive

Here is the song that first put Dead or Alive on the map and started a wave hard-driving dance tunes that had many of us dancing throughout the mid-eighties and beyond.  I remember when I first heard it, I had no idea what the heck they were saying in the chorus, but it didn't matter.  That hook is still as infectious today as it was back then.  Check out You Spin Me Round (Like a Record Baby)... 

R.I.P. Pete Burns

It was a sad day in the music world today as Pete Burns, once the frontman of an awesomely popular new wave band and later in life a popular British icon eccentric, lost his life today to a massive cardiac arrest.  He was only 57 years old.  Due to the fact that he was so highly renowned in his native Britain, we here in the States never got to really know the Pete Burns of the past, ooh, thirty years or so since Dead or Alive was in its heyday.  His stint on Celebrity Big Brother, the many changes to his appearance via cosmetic surgeries, and his overall in-your-face-and-be-who-you-are persona made him immensely popular on the other side of the Pond and there are many out there mourning his loss.

Dead or Alive, and Pete Burns specifically, was a big part of my youth.  Their 1985 album Youthquake was a goldmine of hard-driving dance-floor gems and I actually had to purchase a second copy because I wore out the first one.  I was lucky enough to get to see them perform once out in Sag Harbor and their high energy set still lingers in my mind like it was yesterday.   Yeah, I loved that band, so much so that for the rest of the week I'll be dedicating Song of the Day posts to his memory. Here's a taste from their follow-up album, Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know.  Check out Brand New Lover...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Should I Stay or Should I Go - The Clash

I finally started watching the much heralded new sci-fi/horror series Stranger Things on Netflix yesterday and all I can say is wow, what a great show!  It's got a lil bit of early American Horror Story, mixed in with a lil Stand By Me, and a whole lot of suspense.  My friend Kyle and I blew through the first four episodes last night in no time and it's gonna kill me to wait until he and I get together again to finish the last four episodes.  If you've watched the show, which takes place in the early 80's and stars two well-known actors from that era, Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine, then you've certainly heard this tune in it, which was nicely incorporated into the storyline.  If you haven't, then I highly suggest you check out Stranger Things on Netflix, and soon.  In the meantime, enjoy this Clash classic...

New Wave Month Song of the Day - Situation - Yaz

We finish up New Wave Month with a rare clip from my favorite new wave artist, Yaz (AKA - Yazoo).  This is one of their most popular tunes, with an instantly recognizable, fast-moving synthesizer and Alison Moyet's powerful vocals.   I hope you've enjoyed this month-long trip down new wave memory lane with me.  Stay tuned as we return to our regular mix of today's best hits and great tunes of the distant and not so distant past.  Peace!

New Wave Month Song of the Day - We Close Our Eyes - Go West

British duo Go West scored big a few times in the 80's and 90's with songs on the more pop/dance side of new wave music, and this was their very first and one of their biggest singles ever.  Check out We Close Our Eyes...

New Wave Month Song of the Day - White Wedding - Billy Idol

Hey little sister, what have you done?

British rocker Billy Idol got his start in the late 70's with the punk band Generation X, but he really came into his own in the early 80's and beyond starting with this great tune.  Oh yeah, it's a nice day, for a white wedding...

New Wave Month Song of the Day - Der Kommissar - Falco

The last time I posted this song, it was in English, but oftentimes I think the original is better, even when it's not in English.  Some of you may remember Falco, the Austrian recording artist who hit it big here in English (well, sort of!) with Rock Me Amadeus.  Most of you will know this tune in English from British new wave band After the Fire, or even maybe even Laura Branigan's version of it called Deep In the Dark.  Anyway, I've always loved the song, especially the cool guitarish track. In English or German, it's still a great tune.  Enjoy Der Kommissar...