It Lives Under the Couch

It lives under the couch.  It lurks around waiting for the right time to strike.  It's always there and for the good of all mankind, often forgotten.

Until... the VVers chose to move into new digs and unearth the party-in-a-box!  What is this box?  It's the 80's box!  An instant party full of crap-tastic synth records, rainbow slouch socks, piano tie, hair crimper, Voltron t-shirt, and Transformers: The Movie.

Lionel is so excited to be in the 80's box he pole vaulted out of his center spread using a giant bread stick.

Better than the electric boogaloo.

Created when VVer #2 decided to have an 80's party for her birthday a few years back, the 80's records that had co-mingled with the collection swiftly got picked out and stashed in a separate pile in preparation for the party.  The VVers went on an extra record store binge to bolster the 80's offerings for guests.  Many of these records only have one or two songs worth listening to such as Cory Heart "Sunglasses at Night" or Thomas Dolby "She Blinded Me with Science."  When the dust had settled post party and all the Tab had been guzzled, the VVers were faced with a quandary.  What to do with all these crimped-out finds!?!  While they try to stay neutral on discriminating between their musical tastes, the VVers do discriminate on 80's records.  Good ones that warrant frequent playing time get to stay and hang out in the world with the rest of the collection while the rest have been sentenced to a life under the couch.

First Offense,
you mean there was more than one album?

The 80's box is in fact an unassuming old, beige, boot-shoebox.  It was kept separate from the primary vinyl collection which was carefully packed away for the recent move.  Amongst stacks of heavy moving boxes the boot box was easiest to access and the VVers curiously opened it up.  Lacking other options, these gems (gems?) were played in their entirety while painting the new casa.  It was slightly painful and probably not a good idea to be on a ladder holding a paint roller and want to TURN OFF THE RECORD!  One such slab, Wham! Make it Big had never been played.  It had sat peacefully in obscurity under the couch waiting for this very moment to crush the tired and witless movers with its horrendous pop crapitude.  VVer #2 really despises some of the tracks that will remain unmentioned (ok, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" IS the WORST song EVER).  Why keep it in the box?  Album closer "Careless Whisper" gave the VVers great entertainment when they coined an entirely new song about beige paint while most likely high on the fumes.  What does one follow that up with?  Turns out the answer is Heart's self-titled disaster of an eighth album from 1985.  VVer #1 wanted to have nothing to do with this.  "What About Love" and "These Dreams" are pretty horrible (and fun) upon re-listen, but not nearly as bad as the rest of the album.  What happened to Heart in the 80's?  YIKES.

Survivin' in the 80's BOX!

Other Box Denizens include:
Breakin' Soundtrack
Bobby Brown Dance...Ya Know It!
Lionel Richie Can't Slow Down 
Dire Straits Money for Nothing
Prince Purple Rain
Peter Gabriel So
Pat Benatar Live from Earth
Young MC Bust a Move 12"
Tears for Fears Songs from the Big Chair
The Cult She Sells Sanctuary
Andre Cymone Survivin' in the 80's

The list goes on and on, until the box is full.  You get the gist.  Tis' a mighty box, for a mighty party.  With contents this awesome and frightening, the box should only be unearthed on special occasions.

Flock of Seagulls

A Flock of Seagulls - 1982

No, really, it's good. The guy's hair isn't even totally atrocious yet.

So much of this record is awesome! Maybe my excitement here could be partially attributed to low expectations, but the actual quality and pep of this record cannot be denied. A good number of the songs on the album are jingly-jangly pop gems with some fine tuned laser light-sheen, primed for late night electro boogaloo dance parties (or early morning pancake flipping). It's hard to really follow what lead man Mike Score is singing about, but generally it can be summed up in the titles: I Ran, Space Age Love Song, You Can Run, Don't Ask Me, Messages, Telecommunication, Modern Love is Automatic, Standing in the Doorway, D.N.A., and Man Made ... ahh yes, a sci-fi workout album! I guess the real trick is that it's not just 80's pop. There are strong bass lines, wailing guitar hooks, a convulsive drumline, and traces of a hip hop stutter rhythm in sections. Many of the choruses demand full sing-along participation as well.

The two obvious singles/hits live on side A while side B is one propulsive and interesting song after the next. The second track "Modern Love is Automatic" is like listening to music on another planet, and the fourth "D.N.A." is just pure fun. Both feature tempo shifts that are at times ushered in via an explosion or a bleep bloop. This album is categorized for its 80's synths as new wave - as they called it then - which is just a crappy short hand for saying high energy pop rock with synths. Either way, there is no mistaking the sound for anything other than groundbreaking. This album kick-started the 80's MTV sound.

This find was snapped up at the True Vine in Hampden/Baltimore along with a good chunk of other affordable vinyl (none as good as this one). Since we were able to snag this album for a dollar in preparation for a very important 80s birthday party we got to check the entire thing out. Imagine if we weren't using vinyl? We would likely have just Limewire'd "I Ran" or scoffed at the idea of buying the CD. Hooray for records! This record in no way was expected to be good by either of us, but thank goodness for vinyl!

Business As Usual

Men at Work - Business As Usual - 1981

And then there was our Men At Work debut album that the cheesy 80’s loving VV sneaks into the record player at least once a week … Yeah, yeah, everyone knows “Down Under” and “Who Can it Be Now?” but do they know the insanely catchy “Be Good Johnny” or “Underground”? Not only does this album have fun Australian accents, but it also has reggae undertones and lots of synthesizers … perfect for the 80s dance-party in your household. But really, this is one of those records that you can just let play from beginning to end and not want to skip a song - which is my prerequisite to be a contender in the VV album catalog. It's also one of those rare records that Side B is far superior to Side A, at least in my opinion. Highlight to the album is that the inside sleeve gives credits to one of the band members, Russell Deppeler, on the Telephone and Calculator. Oh, music instruments of the 80s, how you never cease to entertain me....