My Favorite Holiday

If you don't know by now, I'm kinda quirky. Some people love Christmas, some Valentine's Day or even their birthday's but my favorite day of the year is Halloween. Either it has something to do with that darker side of me or something but I really like scaring kids coming to the door in search of goodies. Last year went really well, here's a link to some pictures from 2003. This year, I think I'll be outside a bit with a little more hands-on approach. I'd actually rather play some Skinny Puppy music but I figure that they won't be there long enough for it to set in so best to go with the realistic howling, screaming, ripping, clashing and grunting sounds of a sound effects CD. I'm hoping to at least get someone to pee their pants this year. Last year I only heard a few "Mommy, I don't wanna go up there can we go next door?" Satisfying as that was, it was my first year so I hope to improve.

I hope each and every one of you have a safe and somewhat sane Halloween. Yes, probably the scariest thing about this holiday is that I'm still driving the rental Kia Rio. Take care.

Selling For The Sake Of Selling

One thing that people may notice about 80's Music Central is that I have a fear of selling things. You won't see too many ads up and when there is one it is because of much negotiation with the vendor. I have always held onto the motto: You don't sell ping pong balls on a golfing Web site even if they are the same size. Pretty much what that means is that if our Web site is only dealing with 80's music, I don't want anything advertized there that doesn't relate to it or an artist. Sometimes it just works out well. The negotiations I mentioned can be rather tricky. One record label recently offered several box sets from a major 80's act but wanted us to send email off to all our subscribers about the set. I like all of you am pissed at all the spam I get and would hate to hear that the newsletter is winding up in your junk folder because we sent out a separate email. See what I mean by tricky. But things will work out because I'm a pessimistic optimist. I just believe it will take longer. B)

Ending The Weekend With A Bang

Had a great time in Glendale, California. Had a minor cultural awakening at the wedding which was held at an Armenian church. What many people don't know is that children usually aren't allowed to attend. I believe this to be because it is a long ceremony and the reception can go well into the next morning. I didn't even make it past 10pm and they hadn't even cut the cake yet.

The drive back to Las Vegas wasn't too bad. Left a little bit after 8am and got in at 1pm. Of course, 2 hours after being in town I get in a car accident. It's always funny how after something bad happens you start thinking, if only I had second guessed myself somewhere to either not be at that spot at the time or to have taken that nap that seemed so attractive. Oh well, call it fate or destiny but it seems like I was meant to talk to my insurance agent and see an auto shop. No injuries other than pride (I hadn't had an accident in the last 6 years or so.) Better get some sleep so I can drop the car off in the morning and pick up a snazzy rental.

Off To Cali

Heading to Southern California for a wedding (yes, another one... week 2.) Hope to stop by and see my youngest brother's house tomorrow (haven't been down there since he moved there.) Should be fun. Now, I just need to figure out what CDs to take on the trip. Always the toughest decision because you are pretty much married to that music for the trip if you don't bring enough. I still remember listening to the Monkees Greatest Hits for the whole trip to San Diego and back to Vegas. I don't think I could handle that again. Be back soon!

One Step Beyond

Sometimes people ask me if I listen to anything other than 80's music. You do have to laugh a bit about that. I love all music with very little bias. Some of my favorite acts during the last 14 years or so have been Oasis, Coldplay, The Eels, Linkin Park and Foo Fighters. Odd bands like: Candyland, Candyflip, Tatu, Teenage Fanclub and Ned's Atomic Dustbin. I even have some J-Pop (or Japanese pop music)... I think there is a CD by Yoko Ishida that has been in my car for about 2 years now. I do tend to pick up some of the latest albums by my favorite 80's artists also but above all... I tend to like hunting down bands that I missed during the the 1980s because I know it broadens my horizons ever so slightly.

Post-Wedding Blues

Ok, so everything seemed to be going great. Didn't trip following my brothers down the aisle (ok, it was actually a putting green but it wasn't good for the visuals) as we proceeded towards the minister. Coughed but not during the important parts of the ceremony. But... the speech came sooner than expected and I flubbed badly. I figure there is a reason that I should use cue-cards. Sometimes things sound so good in your head until you say them. Oh well, it's over and Matthew and Elizabeth are very happily wed. Just finished recording the Update for tomorrow. It just took a lot longer than I expected after getting back from the reception. Gotta find the directions to the post-wedding brunch that I was sent for tomorrow.

Purposeful Procrastination

I've always been the type of person that waits until the last moment to do anything. Shopping for presents, finishing projects and even writing. Some just naturally happens that way but most of this I do on purpose. When it comes to shopping, I usually take a lot of that time thinking about the person and what they might like before shopping. Working on the Web site is pretty much comes in bursts when I have the time to put into it. And I actually save up all the news I acquire during the week (to be honest, I try not to look at the news too early either) until Monday when I type up the newsletter. The good thing about this is that I don't repeat articles by accidentally writing them more than once but sadly it does add to a few spelling errors. I also figure that if I focus on the task all at once, it will be more complete than a bunch of separate writings that may have missed something. Why, is this on my mind? Well, I'm writing my speech for my brother's wedding... which is tomorrow. hahaha

Theraflu is my friend

Ok, looks like I'm one one of my binges. Essentially... when I feel I'm coming down with the flu or really bad allergies, I have a dose of Theraflu and hit the sack. When I gather my wits and wake back up, I take another dose and go back to sleep. I do this until I have to go to work or just can't sleep anymore. It does seem to work. So far, so good. Anyhow, I type this before I go to back to la la land. I'd like to send my congrats to www.80sairwaves.com for hitting the Top 15% of 7,400 full-time web radio broadcasters in less than a year. It's a great radio station and the first one to take a chance on my 80's Nuts Update radio segment (12 noon and midnight C.S.T.) I don't expect that 15% to last long as they keep adding new songs to the playlist.

Rant of the day: I don't think that people take pride in owning CDs anymore. I don't think it's because of all the tape and sticker crap they put on the packaging. I know that some people are paying for songs and full albums from iTunes and some other less savory sources but what happened to having the real thing in your hands? I do admit that I used Napster when it was still around. But then again, I only downloaded songs that were out of print and likely to never be heard again like the Passion Puppets' "Like Dust." (My way of saying "see... if only you'd put out this CD you'd have some of my money in your pocket.") Maybe, I'm anal-retentive or just a braggart but I like having the product the artist intended to get out than a copy. Then again, I also like to read the lyrics along to the songs the first time I hear the album. I'm just weird like that, I guess.

Introductions are in order

Ok, I'm just about to go to sleep when I think... hey lets start a project at say 11pm. I've always wanted to take my writing in a few different directions and this will let me stray away from just talking about 80's music. This isn't to say that I am bored with the topic but that I do need to let the other 90% of what I think out of my brain. That is why this is here and this is why this post is as lame as it can get because I am setting my goals low so I can better myself enough to attain them. Ok, off to sleep.

Real Life - Imperfection

If you've never heard "Send Me An Angel," you may have been under a rock or heavily sedated in the 1980s. Many of those not in situation of the aforementioned lost souls may not know that the Real Life has recorded many albums since and are very much active. Their latest album, Imperfection, puts any rumors to rest.

The band has leaned their membership down to the duo of David Sterry and George Pappas at this point in their career. The lack of players hasn't affected the team's music unless it has created a bit more clarity of purpose. The disc leads with the pulse-pounding title-track. The song openings are rather curious here as they don't grab you in the first measures but build with chord progressions that seemingly make something where there didn't seem to be anything. This kind of craftsmanship appears throughout the album. Sterry's sensual, yearning vocals are as impressive as the writing. Songs like "Painless," "Another Brick In My Head " and "Kiss Like This" show sonic leaps, versatility and reluctance to hold on old habits. The only song that I could consider filler here is "Kamikaze" but you have to give points to a song that finds a way to use "apeshit" in a verse. The album closer, "Beautiful Thing," is probably my favorite new song of the year at this point in time. I believe this comes from a clever chorus that refrains vocally and smartly relies on a very haunting melody as well as strong production. One of the few times that the title describes the song aptly.

Imperfection is far from it's title but steps short of its opposite. Granted, the version reviewed was not the U.S. release which included the additional track and single "Oblivion." Real Life's new album is a treat for fans urging their return and varied enough to find interest in even a few under a rock or coming off medication.

4 out of 5

Dave Gahan - Paper Monsters

After the release of Depeche Mode's Exciter album in 2001, the members of the band took some time off to pursue other projects. Andrew Fletcher started the Toast Hawaii record company, Martin Gore was preparing his second collection of cover tunes and Dave Gahan with the help of multi-instrumentalist Knox Chandler (Psychedelic Furs, Golden Palominos and Siouxsie And The Banshees) recorded his debut solo album Paper Monsters.

The hardest thing for any long-time vocalist to do is step out of the shadow of a band they've been with for over 2 decades and create something original. For Gahan, it was expected to be easier. Depeche Mode leaned on the writing talents of Martin Gore (with the exception of Vince Clarke on Speak & Spell and a few tracks by Alan Wilder.) But for the most part, Dave Gahan has been an unknown commodity when it comes to songwriting. Paper Monsters opens with the first single "Dirty Sticky Floors" which doesn't do much to get out of the shadow except for the seedy title. More recently it seems like every Depeche Mode album has one grittier song (that is often chosen as the first single) and this seems like an amalgam of "Barrel Of A Gun" and "I Feel You" but can't fault him for playing to his strengths. "Stay" is a nice sparse production that along with "Hold On" and "Bitter Apple" are the balance of beautiful tracks the album needed. "I Need You" is a great but predictable dance track. There is an over-riding sense of darkness to the album with a lot of personal songs that seem to show Gahan dealing with his personal demons specifically on the Dead Of Night-like stomp-fest "Bottle Living" and the bluesy "Black And Blue Again."

Dave Gahan set the bar high for Paper Monsters. There were some moments where lyrically he didn't get his chin over that bar but for a debut album this shows Gahan has promise as a solo artist.

Fleetwood Mac - Say You Will

Fleetwood Mac have returned with their first full studio album in 16 years minus the vocal and piano talents of Christine McVie. To put this album in perspective, the last few albums by the band contained 12 tracks which was pretty healthy for a time when people were slapping a few singles on an album with filler material bumping most albums to 9 or 10 tracks. Say You Will has 18 (9 written by Stevie Nicks and 9 by Lindsey Buckingham.)

None of this is filler! A lot of the album is what you'd predict: delicate pop beauty by Nicks and sophisticated experimentation by Buckingham. Upon first listen, Lindsey has some moments that are nerve-wracking ("Red Rover," "Come," "Say Goodbye" and "Miranda.") After 3 listens of the disc, I came to understand that my musical boundaries were being tortured methodically and I found myself not skipping the tracks anymore but relishing in them. Buckingham does find some beauty of his own with "Steal Your Heart Away" and a re-working of "Bleed To Love Her" (from The Dance album.) Nicks on the other hand has beauty to spare and hits an apex with her tender "Goodbye Baby." "Running Through The Garden" actually has the energy to feel like a sprint through rose bushes. I could rave about the title track, the haunting "Illume (9-11)" or "Thrown Down" but...it's probably easier to point out the songs that aren't amazing. That's because they aren't there! Say You Will is an instant classic that Fleetwood Mac fans have been begging for.

Ministry - Animositisomina

As Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker's first album of the new millennium, a lot was said about Ministry returning to the sound and angst of their 1989 release The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste. Would their follow-up to 1999's Dark Side Of The Spoon live up to the hype?

Animositisomina breaks out of the gates screaming with raging drums, stabbing guitars and growl galore with "Animosity." The song is the centerpiece of this album as a lot of the strength of it carries over into ripping tracks like the aggressive "Piss," the slow grinding chant-a-long "Shove" and the drum driven "Impossible." "Unsung" musically makes me think that Ministry ran over KMFDM's tour van on the way to the studio and can't peel the guitar-work off their wheels. This isn't a bad thing but it's a new area for them. The phenomenally produced industrial square dance, "Broken," is bound to become a mosh pit favorite. The surprise on this album was the band's cover of Magazine's "Light Pours Out Of Me" which is as dark as it is seems out of place and maybe too true to the original.

Overall, Animositisomina is a strong move back to Ministry's more powerful work. Although a few songs just barely miss their mark ("Leper" and "Stolen,") it'd be well worth picking up if you are looking for something to push your musical boundaries or if you are just looking for something to kick.

Boston - Corporate America

Eight years after the release of their 4th album Walk On, Boston have returned with two new band members (Kimberley Dahme and Fran Cosmo's son Anthony) and a batch of 9 new songs. How will new band members and a prolonged absence affect the sound of Boston?

Corporate America opens strong right from the start with the catchy rocker "I Had A Good Time." This has everything you'd expect from Boston: tremendous guitar work, drums leading the way and great vocals. If this single doesn't get airplay near you, harass your local DJ. "You Gave Up On Love" is the definitive spurned lover's power ballad. Odd for a band to spend so long on a studio album but put a live version of a song from their last album on it but this version of "Livin' For You" is a treat. Also interesting is the Kimberley Dahme-penned and sung "With You" which I could see getting good airplay on a country radio station if someone snuck it in the programming. "Didn't Mean To Fall In Love" begins as a beautiful ballad with a lot of promise but the additional big top organ sound makes me cringe. The remaining songs on the album are fair to decent including the overly-dramatic title track and the Oasis-esque "Cryin'."

I can't recommend this album unless you are a fan and even then some of the tracks will remind you where the skip button is on your CD player. This isn't because the songs are bad... some are just musically more advanced than the lyrics which come across amateurish. I'm sure part of Corporate America is a Boston album yet for some reason amongst some good songs and classic harmonies are the stuff B-sides are made of.

Soft Cell - Cruelty Without Beauty

After releasing Last Night In Sodom in 1984, Soft Cell's Marc Almond and David Ball went in different directions. Almond had success with his solo career and brought his flare for the theatrical performances on tour with him. Ball went on to do a lot of writing, remix and production work along with a few 'one-off' projects. By 1990 he had joined up with Richard Norris as the ambient/techno/dance duo The Grid until 1996. After an 18 year break, a reunited Soft Cell return with Cruelty Without Beauty.

When I listen to a comeback album, I am judgemental. I think about what the artist last sounded like and what people remember them sounding like. On Cruelty Without Beauty, Soft Cell kick things into gear with "Darker Times." Darkness and seediness aren't new to the band that brought us "Sex Dwarf" but it seems to have entirely infected songs like the sordid "Caligula Syndrome," the humor-tinged ballad "Last Chance" and even the sleazy "Desperate." This isn't a bad thing. It seems to be balanced by the dance romp "Sensation Nation" (I mean, come on... they even mention happy shiny people) and the closing track "On An Up." As strong a song as "Monoculture" is... the deep and beautiful dance track "All Out Of Love" (no, it's not an Air Supply cover) would be my pick as first single. "The Night" brilliantly takes one eerie (almost Phantom Of The Opera-esque) keyboard line and converts it to an aggressive dance track. Although I'm still trying to understand the lyrical complexities, "Together Alone" is a song that I still find myself singing along to anyhow.

I recall reading about a new sugar substitute is being worked on that is 1000 times sweeter with no calories. For some reason, distance and time not only concentrated Almond and Ball's talents but when returning... but made them (if possible) even more Soft Cell. If you are a fan, you should have slept in front of the store to buy this disc when it came out. This isn't the album you waited 18 years for... it's better.

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising

The Boss has returned with his first new studio release since 1995's The Ghost Of Tom Joad. Possibly more important is that this is his first new album with The E Street Band since 1987. What does Bruce Springsteen, one of America's true song writing talents, have to offer the new millennium?

Springsteen couldn't open this 15-track album better than with the magical "Lonesome Day." Songs like "Waiting On A Sunny Day," "Let's Be Friends (Skin To Skin)" and "Mary's Place" are the uplifting fun songs that make you feel good to be breathing. It's great to have songs like those to break an emotional roller coaster spiking with a dagger-sharp emotional song like "You're Missing." "Further On (Up The Road)" is the dark gritty no-nonsense rocker that you knew Bruce had in him. "Counting On A Miracle" wraps you up a rocking love song disguised in fairy tale imagery. "Paradise" is exactly as it's titled yet soft, sultry, sexy and touched by sadness. You never get a sense of overproduction even with the abrupt change when you hit the stand-out track "Worlds Apart." The world music feel is something you don't expect and you have to wonder if Peter Gabriel slipped this song to Springsteen (kept checking the credits for Youssou N'Dour.)

This album was a great surprise. Upon listening, you can't predict anything to come. The song writing is crisp storytelling that grabs and holds you fixed. You can almost forget there the whole E Street Band in the mix until repeated listenings. The only thing rising here is Bruce Springsteen's career... again.

Def Leppard - X

Def Leppard have clawed their way back up from what many may call commercial missteps and (following up the success of 1999's Euphoria album) they now release their tenth studio album, aptly titled, X. Oddly enough, this is their first studio release with more than one producer.

With a mix of producers, you'd obviously hear some style differences. One example is "Gravity" which makes use of some slight electronic touches with a near rap-paced chorus. The beautifully crafted first single "Now" contains guitar-work that goes from beautiful harmonics to aggressive near-Metallica moments without losing a step. Joe Elliot shows he still has amazing pipes as the band rips through the catchy "Torn To Shreds." "Scar" is a bittersweet gem with scorching solos. The haunting acoustic ballad "Long Long Way To Go" is a hit just waiting to happen (it is rumored to be the second single). The energetic rocking "Cry" is good reminder of where the band has come from while "Four Letter Word" has a ballsy strut to it (even though I think I missed what the word was somehow.)

X is a triumph. This will go down as a classic Def Leppard album right next to Pyromania and Hysteria. The only negative thing that I could say about it is that X is heavy on emotional content but that's not entirely bad either. The trademark band vocal harmony isn't lost here and helps hold things together well. I will go out on a limb and say this is the best album I've heard this year.

Poison - Hollyweird

Poison return with their first full studio release in... well it's been nearly a decade since Native Tongue. Don't get me wrong. They have been releasing new studio material but the last two albums have been accompanied by live tracks and MTV Unplugged recordings. Which makes you wonder, what makes this album stand on it's own.

This album probably should have been titled Retro for many reasons. Lyrically, a lot of the songs are stuck in a time warp. Case in point: "Shooting Star" and "Wishful Thinkin'" (which follow each other in the track listing) deal with the same small town girl gets off the bus in Hollywood in search of fame that their 1988 hit "Fallen Angel" did. Even "Wasteland" refers to "...fallen angels and broken dreams." Then there are two songs about someday becoming rock stars with a drug references galore which makes me wonder if they forgot they are or were there already. "Stupid, Stoned And Dumb" is actually as retro as it can get with opening harmonies but also a cleverly wrapped band satire.

All the songs really gel in their arrangement. The band breathes new life into the classic Who track "Squeeze Box." But, it's C.C. DeVille's vocals that make this album. "Livin' In The Now" is creative writing and musically raw leaning more towards punk than metal. The most brilliant idea this album brings forth is two songs with the same beat, same chorus but different verses and different singers: "Home (Bret's story)" and "Home (C.C.'s story)."

There is very little weird to Hollyweird. If anything, it suffers in some spots from potholes filled with rock clichés. Overall, this album has a fresh approach musically and shows hints of something far greater to come.

Pet Shop Boys - Release

Returning with their 8th studio album, the Pet Shop Boys Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have added the familiar face and guitar of Johnny Marr to 7 of the 10 tracks on the album. That by itself should change the direction of the album but instead of going for a harder and more aggressive album, the Pet Shop Boys have decided to show a more refined and mature side of themselves that we haven't seen since Behavior.

The album opens with the first single "Home And Dry" which is by-and-far the best song they've recorded in ages. When I heard the background music to the track on their Web site during a visit, I overlooked it as their version of elevator music. Amazingly simplified and lush textures... beautiful. You hear the term Beatle-esque used a lot but "I Get Along" is a subdued Oasis/Beatle-esque arrangement that I can mentally hear Noel Gallagher singing it while on a baby grand. Seems like the effects of Cher's "Believe" vocal production was not lost on the Pet Shop Boys' "London." The song could have been just a beautiful acoustic ballad but the vocal effect and some creative mixing make it even better. Without Marr's guitar-work songs like "Birthday Boy," "Love Is A Catastrophe" and "You Choose," the songs either would not have happened or would have become dance tracks. The love anthem "Here" for some reason reminds me of an unmessy car accident between a PSB chorus and an Erasure verse where both cars wind up wearing each others paint and look good in it.

Aside from "The Night I Fell In Love," I was amazingly surprised and delighted with Release. Tennant is possibly at his best lyrically and comes across as a more confident vocalist. This is a triumphant moment musically for a band that just keeps getting better.

Daniel Ash - Daniel Ash

It's been 10 years since Daniel Ash has released a solo album. More intriguing is that since 1992's Foolish Thing Desire, Ash has embraced technology more than ever. You can sense that direction being slowly forced on the last three Love And Rockets albums (Hot Trip To Heaven, Sweet F.A. and Lift.) But with Love And Rockets now on a possible permanent hiatus, Ash returns with a new band and a new sound.

There is an unmistakable groove going on within this album as Ash plays his to strengths: strong percussion, haunting vocals and at least one classic remake. Songs like "Mastermind," "Hollywood Fix" and "Rattlesnake" all have a strong dance influence (almost house meets trance) to them with some of them depending more on the beat but it works admirably. "Ghost Writer," "Chelsea" and "Walk On The Moon" shine with terrific writing and the trademark chill he can lend to his vocals. They almost seem to be placed on the album as a foil to the other album tracks to bring you to the next phase. The percussive-oriented "The Money Song," "Come Alive," "Burning Man" and "Trouble" also lend texture and substance to this collection. But for some reason Daniel Ash has always had that golden touch when it comes to remaking classic hits. We aren't left wanting in that department with a cover of the 1968 Classics IV hit "Spooky."

This is a cohesive collection of songs that can be called a thrill-ride without the 10-story drops. "Spooky" is a brilliant inclusion and I can only hope for a video for the single (someone call Christina Ricci or Thora Birch quick!) I've always considered someone releasing a self-titled album later in their career as having a lack of creativity but here I can say that Daniel Ash redefines himself and it's a bold new starting point.