Tuesday, February 14, 2006

# 65-61

It's got to be a strange twist of fate that brings us ever closer to the top as we count down the TOP 100 SINGLES OF THE 80s! Now let's go on to numbers 65-61!

65. TWIST OF FATE – Olivia Newton-John
(Kipner/Beckett)
MCA single #52284 (US)/ EMI single #5438 (UK)
Chart Debut: November 15, 1984 (US)/ November
Chart Position: #3 US / #50 UK

I don’t care how corny it may sound to some people but Olivia Newton-John is one of my all time favorite singers. I love just about everything she ever does or records. I have loved her when she was country, I loved her when she went Sandy sass, through her endless aerobic workouts, her synth pops and her sultry late 80s look. It’s Grease that really made me a Livvie lover and I’ve never looked back.

“Twist Of Fate” came out a few years after the huge success of Grease but it was with John Travolta that Liv was once again connected to when they made the 1983 film Two Of A Kind, from which this single is taken. Now the movie isn’t nearly as bad as the critics want you to believe. It’s a little tale about divine intervention where the big guy in the sky will only stop the destruction of the world should two unlikely people put aside their dastardly habits and find love in each other (our heroes).

Interestingly enough, one doesn’t have to sit through the movie to get the gist of the storyline for its all right there in the song’s lyrics – “Do we deserve a second chance/ how did we fall into this circumstance?/ we weren’t so straight and narrow/ this is much more than we deserve/ a higher voice has called the tune/ two hearts that lost their beat will now resume/ the gift of life extension/ by divine intervention…” Oh yes, thumping along over an oh so 1983 synth line Livvie tells us it must be a twist of fate telling us that Heaven can wait.. and if the song wasn't thrilling enough just look at how cool Livvie looks on the record jacket! Watch the video!

64. I DON’T WANT YOUR LOVE – Duran Duran
(LeBon/Rhodes/Taylor)
Capitol single #44237 (US)/ Parlophone single #YOUR1 (UK)
Chart Debut: October 22, 1988 (US)/ October 1, 1988 (UK)
Chart Position: #4 US / #14 UK

I always liked Duran Duran but never got on the big New Romantic phase that they were such a part of. My friends were all over the boys of Duran and my best pal Melsie swore Nick Rhodes was the hottest piece of Duran meat ever. But other than a few songs here and there after “Planet Earth” in 1981, I didn’t run out to buy the latest Duran merchandise. That is until “I Don’t Want Your Love” and its parent album Big Thing came out in 1988. At the time I was going through my teenage runaway schtick and my gal pal Ryanne would pick me up every night in her yellow and black Omni O24 and take us off to work at the Crack’d Pot Café. This song was one of the oh so many gems we would jam to as we headed through the night. For some reason all of my teenage lust and bitterness was exemplified in this Duran Duran song and the dead on sexual energy of the songs lyrics still make me feel like a teenager and when those background b-girls chime in, come on – it’s pure magic. Watch the video!

63. MICKEY – Toni Basil
(Mike Chapman/Nicky Chinn)
Chrysalis single #2638/ Radialchoice single #TIC4 (UK)
Chart Debut: October 9, 1982 (US)/ February 6, 1982 (UK)
Position: #1 US / #2 UK

Toni Basil’s album Word Of Mouth is one of the most overlooked albums in the new wave era of the early 1980s. Working with the Mothersbaugh brothers of Devo and covering two of their songs, this album has new wave all over it. But alas everyone only remembers “Mickey”, but that isn’t necessarily a crying shame because “Mickey” is one of the most fun singles to come out of the era. Since everyone knows the song I won’t go into much detail about but will instead give you some tid bits of trivia you probably will never need to know.
1. “Mickey” is a cover of a song called “Kitty” which was sung from the male perspective.
2. Toni Basil only recorded the album because she wanted to make the videos. Word Of Mouth was released as a video and an album at the same time.
3. The cheerleading stomps were not in the original “Kitty” song. Toni added them as she wanted to make the video with cheerleading choreography.
4. Toni Basil was and is a world class choreographer who has done dance numbers for films including some Elvis Presley movies and has been Bette Midler’s choreography since the early 70s.
5. Terry Ellis, the head of Chrysalis Records released “Mickey” as a single after his young daughter heard it and couldn’t stop singing it.
Check out the video!

62. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – Concrete Blonde
(Concrete Blonde)
IRS single #102096
Released: 1989
Chart Position: -

In the liner notes for the remastered version of Concrete Blonde’s Free – the album which spawned the “Happy Birthday” single – Midwest born Kevin Couch states, “Growing up in the Midwest I would often romanticize about what life would be like in Los Angeles. No one painted a more vivid picture than Concrete Blonde. This was a darker Los Angeles where one could find crippling frustration, helplessness and even loneliness on their birthday. However, behind it all there was a strong feeling of empowerment and independence.” Reading his statements, I realized the whole thing could’ve been written by me. Like Kevin, I had absolutely no dillusions about the city of angels when I moved here, and a lot of that had to do with the countless hours I listened to Concrete Blonde.

”Happy Birthday” shows the desolatation and loneliness one can feel all alone in the cold city – particularly alone on your own birthday. “Outside in the hall, there’s a cat fight/ it’s just after midnight/ I guess I’ll be all right/ I’m laid out on the floor/ drunk and poor…” The coolest part about the song is Johnette isn’t terribly bothered about her situation, she just smokes out the window, stares at her ceiling stain and wishes herself a happy birthday while a poppy little song plays behind her. One more brilliant gem from the brilliant mind of Johnette Napolitano. Watch the video!

61. LOVE IS A STRANGER - Eurythmics
(Annie Lennox/Dave A Stewart)
RCA single #13618 (US)/ #DA1 (UK)
Chart Debut: October 15, 1983 (US)/ April 9, 1983 (UK)
Chart Position: #23 US / #3 UK

Where “Happy Birthday” hides its glumness inside cheery music, Annie and Dave make no qualms in “Love Is A Stranger” about being in moody territory and they are going to suck you in whether you like or it or not. “Love is a stranger of a different kind…” so the song goes, and Annie tells us love will temp you in and tear you apart, love is like a drug that after only one taste you won’t get enough of the stuff, and of course love is the ultimate monster which leaves you walking around like a zombie. With Dave’s edgy synth sounds and Annie’s powerful pipes you’d think I would’ve paid more attention to her warnings. Watch the video here!

We've had dangerous love monsters, lust, lonely birthdays and divine intervention so come back tomorrow as we keep on moving and see what other treasures the top 100 singles has to offer us as we head to numbers 60-56!

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posted by swivek @ 3:58 PM

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