More '80s Goofiness

Last week I had a bunch of '80s songs in my head for some reason.  Right around the era of the start of MTV- all those goofy videos.

Wall of Voodoo- Mexican Radio

Siouxsie and the Banshees- Peek A Boo
Weird little song that I always forget about.






The Vapors- Turning Japanese






The Buggles- Video Killed the Radio Star





Sugarcubes- Motorcrash
This one was later than the others, but still is a quirky hit that took off on MTV.

Crazy '80s Music

Hello all, Happy Holidays, Merry Whatever!  Thankfully the Xmas tunes never took over my brain this year, and for some reason the past few days I've been hearing some oddities from the '80s in my head.  It started with hearing "Cars" on the radio, and thinking about what a weird song it is, which led to other weird ones.  Then I heard a few of them in a movie, and, well, here we are.


Cars- Gary Numan

Released in the UK just before 1980, but I heard it in the US right at the start of the '80s, so it counts.  Strange, techno, involving cars and isolation- very '80s.  For some reason I can't embed this one, so you're going to have to go to the trouble of copying and pasting:


https://youtu.be/Ldyx3KHOFXw



Der Kommisar- Falco

Just plain weird, and German, and Cold War related.  He also did "Rock Me Amadeus," another pretty damn odd song that was still a huge hit.





99 Luftballoons- Nena

I heard both versions on the radio, and always preferred the German one.  And had a crush on Nena.  Another Cold War song.




Puttin' On The Ritz- Taco

Strange and catchy, like all of these.




Walk Like An Egyptian- The Bangles

Yes, it was a huge hit and doesn't seem as weird now, but these were all hits, and all pretty bizarre when you get past the catchiness.

I'm B.A.D.

Big Audio Dynamite grew from the Clash, one of my all-time favorites.  I was never a huge fan of B.A.D., but their music lurked in the background of  '90s pop culture, and I always enjoy hearing them.



The Bottom Line- "Pick yourself up of the floor / Don't know what you're waiting for"




E=MC2



Rush- Their #1 hit.



The Globe

Songs in My Head

I haven't posted on here much lately; mainly posting to the Facebook page.  We have a lot going on this year: Baby K is walking, talking a little, growing like crazy. We are sleep-deprived and busy.  We have a few big trips coming up, a garden to tend, and heck, life in general is way more complicated (and less productive) when you have a kid.

It's been awhile since I put up a music post, so let's try to do a few.  First up: J. Geils Band.  The namesake of the band died recently, so there were tons of memorials, and I was reminded of how much I liked them as a kid.  Yeah, a kid: they were big in the '70s and '80s.  Great music, guitar-driven but also spiced up with harmonica.


Whammer Jammer- here's that harmonica, courtesy of "Magic Dick."



Musta Got Lost- this thing got so much airplay, and still does on classic rock stations.  A decent song, with an outrageous intro.



Love Stinks- before I knew what love was, I knew it sucked sometimes, thanks to songs like this.




Freeze Frame- a later one, MTV-era.




Centerfold- my adolescent mind loved this, but picked up on the angst, too.

Savannah and Points South

Baby K just took her first flight, and it went fine.  Well, except for the puke at the end.

We had never intended to go to Florida, but a friend's wedding changed that.  The wedding was later cancelled but we were left with tickets we pretty much had to use or lose, so we went anyway, but spent as little time in Florida as possible.  Sweetie and I had been wanting to go to Savannah and it was only a couple of hours away by car, so we figured we'd go there instead, playing things by ear when we landed.  Speaking of ears, we weren't sure how Baby K would deal with flying, so we were ready to get off at the first layover in Charlotte, or change plans on the Florida end. 

The flights were fine.  Baby K didn't have ear trouble, due to luck and carefully timed breastfeeding, and she loved the flights.  All kinds of new things and people to see, and touch.  She was amused and amazed by the overhead air vents, and on the ground she liked watching the baggage handlers.  Grandmas seated nearby were helpful, and no one seemed bothered by the baby noises.  The puke incident was surprising, but we were semi-prepared and she was not put out by it at all.  We had just fed her peas (those little pouches are so handy,) and hit a few bumps on the descent.  She just spewed the peas back out like a garden hose, getting them all over us.  Wipes to the rescue.  Luckily we had extra clothes.  I should also say that our little umbrella stroller was very handy and a big hit with Baby K, with mommy pushing, anyway.

We ended up getting one of the last hotel rooms in Savannah.  There were several events in town, and it's not a huge place, so we had to wing it.  Our room turned out to be perfect, though, and was a great base for trips into the city.  Savannah is warm, shady, and laidback.  We walked the neighborhoods and parks, visited a few bookstores, of course, and ate.  I made a trip to an air museum while everyone else napped, but we didn't have time for any more museums.  We'll be going back for those, and perhaps a trip to Tybee Island, or maybe Hilton Head.

When we had to leave, we headed south reluctantly.  Jacksonville held nothing of interest to us.  We got a nice hotel near the airport, and again during a nap I made a sprint to St. Augustine.  A cool old city, but incredibly touristy, and I was not sad to leave.  Our flights back went well, again, with Baby K either sleeping or making friends.  We were glad to get home, but we'll be back to Savannah, and avoid Florida.

Who You Gonna Call?

Miss Mox and I were debating the subtleties of '80s music the other day, and I mentioned the Ghostbusters soundtrack.  I haven't seen the new one, but the old one was fun, and I had the soundtrack- there's a lot of good stuff on there.  No, really.  Take a listen.



Ray Parker, Jr.- Ghostbusters theme song.  The title track was a huge hit.  It was everywhere.  I ain't afraid of no ghost.




Laura Branigan- Hot Night.  How much more '80s can you get?




Alessi- Savin' The Day.  Okay, okay, this is even more '80s.




Thompson Twins- In The Name Of Love.  Well, this one is pretty '80s too...




Mick Smiley- Magic.  My favorite song from the soundtrack.

Post-Election Ponderings

Tuesday night Miss Mox asked me "what do I tell our daughter?"  Thankfully, our little sleep stealer can't talk for now, and hopefully barely notices her parents' anger and sadness about the news.  We will do our best to raise her to be a good person, try to be good examples, and one day tell her what can happen when people choose to follow their darker impulses.  These are her learning years, but hopefully not her politically aware years, so in 4 or 8 years there will be someone better to talk about.

I love my country, therefore I am disappointed in it and afraid for it.  I mean, I love my daughter, but I'm not just going to accept it when she does things that are wrong- I'm going to correct her.  I love my country, but I'm not going to just accept it when it does things that are wrong- I'm going to correct it.

What will we become, with a racist scam artist as a leader?  We made it okay to hate again.  Okay to beat up opponents,  persecute anyone different.  What an example to the world, and our children.  The KKK and Russia are thrilled, our allies are nervous.

And I'm nervous, and scared.  That's never happened after an election.  I've been disappointed and angry, but never scared.  It's because of Trump and his followers, not just Republicans in general.   If Rubio or Kasich or almost any of the others had won (except Cruz, he's a dick,) I would have differences of opinion, of policy, with them. I don't think they are hateful people, though. If Romney had won his election, or Dole way back, they wouldn't have been hateful. I would have disagreed with them, opposed them, but not feared for my family and friends. Trump and Pence? Their supporters? They are hateful.  Now they are feeling victorious, and unrestrained.

I worry about my daughter, my wife, my gay friends, my Muslim friends (and others who ignorant people will assume are Muslim, like my American-born friend of Indian heritage.)  I worry about the effects Trump's plans will have on the economy, and on my job specifically: he is against globalization and I work in the auto industry, for a foreign company.  I worry about his hotheadedness, particularly when it comes to foreign affairs and to his propensity to lawsuits and revenge.

I was disappointed, and I am still a bit fearful.  But we'll get through this, and I grew up with Reagan and both Bushes, so I'm used to being in the opposition.  Still... This time is different.  There have already been incidents of harassment across the country; his supporters feel emboldened.  Maybe he will not do (or be able to do) everything he said he would.  Maybe he will learn in office, about restraint and foreign affairs and how the government actually works.  Care to place a bet?

I've been told "get over yourself, he's not going to do all those nasty things."  So... you are saying he is a liar?  That he sold you a bill of goods?  I agree with you there.  I don't think he'll be able to do all the things he wants, but he will sure try with some of them.  And his followers are feeling full of themselves, and think it's okay now to be nasty because, hey, the president is.  To be fair, he has already flip-flopped on some things (remember when that disqualified presidential candidates?)  I see that more as a sign of his ignorance, of him learning about things he never thought about.  Wish that had happened a few years ago.

It will affect our relations to allies, and enemies (and what exactly is Russia, now, since he is such a fan?)  I hope our allies don't give up on us.  They, and we, need to remember that more people actually voted for Hillary.  And because of disenchantment with Hillary, and Republican efforts to suppress the vote, liberal turnout was down.  All in all, that still means most people in the country didn't vote for him, don't think like him, and are decent people. 

I am comforted by little things: watching my daughter figure out how to stand up, doing yard work though I know I am just using that as a distraction.  Comforted by seeing a flag and knowing that America is bigger than Trump, that most people did not vote for him.  We just have to oppose him, and the deplorable people who actually support him.

And I will give him a chance.  A small one. Not really a chance to prove himself; more a chance to prove who he really is.  Any missteps and I will speak up (which means you should expect to hear me often.)  I hope he succeeds, in that I hope the country does better.  Based on his past statements and performance I don't think it will.  Conservatives never gave Obama a chance, and despite their obstruction he made things quite a bit better.  I gave Bush a chance, even when he lost our spyplane, even when he invaded Iraq for no good reason.  I said "well, maybe they know more than we do." They didn't.  They were ignorant liars.   I can't say how long I will give Trump a chance; depends on how many vile things he does.  I give it six months before he does something so foul that even his "reasonable" supporters say "oh, crap, what have we done?", and a year before he gives up/has a "health issue" and turns power over to Pence.  Of course, that is even scarier- Pence is a religious bigot, and more dangerous than Trump because he actually knows how to govern.

Silver linings?  Republicans now have a chance to prove themselves.  And fail, since they're really not good at governing, just opposing.  If Hillary had won, in the same way (if she won the electoral and lost the popular,) imagine the outcry from the deplorables.  So, we were saved that.  They will feel emboldened, but they would have felt angry and cheated.  Comedians have lots to work with. And there are elections in 2 and 4 years.  So, if we make it that long, we're good.  We're Americans.  We're better than Trump.  Let's show ourselves and the world.