Bookmarx

Posted by Tommy Marx June 18th, 2009

In 1981, five gay men in Los Angeles suffered from an unknown disease that the press labeled GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention referred to as the “4H Disease” because it seemed to target Haitians, hemophiliacs, homosexuals and heroin users.

By May 3, 1986, the disease had long since become known as AIDS but was still the subject of much controversy and even more misconceptions. It would be another year before Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States of America, would even publicly acknowledge the disease (even though by May 31, 1987, more than 20,000 Americans had died from AIDS).

So it’s hard to imagine why a pop-rock group from England would decide to release a single that pointedly attacked the anti-gay hatred fueled by the disease. It’s not, however, difficult to understand why the song became a major hit.

“Digging Your Scene” by The Blow Monkeys was a luxurious mixture of pop, soul and jazz. With Neville Henry’s saxophone making love to Robert Howard’s smooth vocals, the song spent five months on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, eventually peaking at #19. Even now, it’s almost impossible to listen to the song without wanting to immediately hear it again.

But underneath its polished surface lies a pain rarely heard on mainstream radio. “I just got your message, baby,” the song begins, “So sad to see you fade away. What in the world is this feeling, catch a breath and leave me reeling? It’ll get you in the end. It’s God’s revenge.”

The song’s narrator makes no attempt to hide his orientation. “Every day I walk alone and pray that God won’t see me. I know it’s wrong. I know it’s wrong,” he sings, before admitting, “I’m like a boy among men, I’d like a permanent friend, I’d like to think that I was just myself again.”

The chorus sums up the anti-gay sentiment of the time by simply saying, “Tell me why is it I’m digging your scene? I know I’ll die, baby.”

Although the Blow Monkeys had eleven more singles reach the U.K. Singles Chart and even had a song (“You Don’t Own Me”) featured on the hugely successful Dirty Dancing soundtrack, “Digging Your Scene” was their only track to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

Still, it’s nice to know that even now, when homosexuals are still denied basic rights that others take for granted and religious organizations actively lobby Congress to keep anti-gay discrimination legal, there was a time in the middle of the bright and shiny 80s when a pop band wasn’t afraid to challenge the hateful rhetoric of the day with a song that still remains genuine ear candy.

Posted by Tommy Marx June 17th, 2009

In 1990, Louie Louie had his first and only top 40 hit with “Sittin’ In The Lap Of Luxury.”

An extremely good-looking Puerto Rican (born Louis Cordero), Louie Louie was an accomplished songwriter and singer and should have been far more successful than he ended up being.  I bought his excellent first album – “The State I’m In” – twice, once as a tape cassette and then as a CD, because I liked it so much.

The title song has an explosive chorus that asks, “Well, it’s time I realized there’s more to life than sin. Can I ever escape the state I’m in,” yet questions things like “what Jesus Christ has to do with sex,” “who knows better that me what does me harm” and “why religion and war go hand in hand.”

“Penny Lady” is a sincere (if somewhat corny) plea to address the homeless situation in this country, “Mata Hari” reveals that his girlfriend, the woman who “could’ve been my bride, by my side” has been “sneakin’ freakin’ with another girly girl” all along. “I’m Sorry That It Happened To You” is both a man’s genuine apology for hurting his girlfriend so badly and a promise that he’s ready to be the father of the child she’s wanted for so long.

In other words, these are songs that have some weight to them while still being extremely entertaining. At the time, Rolling Stones gave the album four out of five stars, saying, “Louie and his band serve up a powerful groove that feels like an earthquake longing to happen. Their contemporary dance-funk sound is spiced with studio talk, spurts of Spanish, sampling from the Seventies (only once, thanks) and some Prince-like guitar.” Andrea Romeo, the reviewer, ends by stating, “Although his lyrics are straightforward and simple, Louie transforms each song into a one-act play with enough emotional dynamics to keep listeners busy – busy in their brains as well as their butts.”

Here is “Sittin’ In The Lap Of Luxury,” which spent four months on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and peaked at #19.

I’ve also included the follow-up single, “I Wanna Get Back With You,” that only charted for seven weeks and peaked at #69 (the same position I myself would like to be in if I ever meet Louie Louie in real life, LOL).

And as an added bonus, I’m including the video that first brought Louis Cordero some fame. He played the abandoned boyfriend in Madonna’s first top ten hit, “Borderline,” which is still one of my favorite videos after all these years. (I love when she spray paints the car, then realizes she’s gone too far.)

Posted by Tommy Marx June 11th, 2009

I bought “The Seeds of Love” cassette tape after falling in love with Tears For Fears song, “Sowing the Seeds of Love.” But the song that truly stood out for me was “Woman in Chains.” With lines like, “It’s a world gone crazy keeps women in chains,” and “I will not accept the greatness of man,” it’s a song that touches me deeply.

And the woman who sings the “female vocals” on the song is Oleta Adams, who plays the piano on two of their other tracks (Badman’s Song” and “Standing on the Corner of the Third World”) and also provides guest vocals for “Badman’s Song.”

She is an extremely talented singer, but she is also, unfortunately for us Americans, a one-hit-wonder. Although “Woman in Chains” was a top forty song, peaking at #36 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in 1990, she wasn’t credited as a featured artist on the single. The only solo hit she had was “Get Here,” which spent almost half a year on the chart and ultimately reached #5. It’s also the only solo hit she had to chart at all.

Here is the single that made Oleta, if only for a few moments, the superstar she deserved to be:

And here’s the amazing Tears for Fears song that first made me aware of her phenomenal talent:

By the way, if anyone wants me to feature a one-hit-wonder favorite of their own, I’d love to.

Posted by Tommy Marx June 10th, 2009

Philip Bailey was one of the lead singers of Earth, Wind & Fire, an act that racked up 16 Top Forty hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. With help from Phil Collins, who’s amassed an astonishing 21 Top Forty hits as a solo act and another 17 as the lead singer of Genesis, Philip had tremendous success with “Easy Lover,” which spent more than five months on the chart, peaking at #2 and selling more than 500,000 copies.

I’ll let others argue whether or not Philip Bailey is a true one-hit-wonder. Personally, I think not, since he did contribute vocally to some of the best songs in history (including “September” and “After the Love Has Gone”). But it did give me an excuse to discuss the song that almost prevented him from being a one-hit-wonder as a solo act: “Walking on the Chinese Wall.”

“Chinese Wall” spent three months on the Hot 100 chart but didn’t quite reach the top forty, cresting at #46. But back when WTBS broadcast Night Tracks, a late night series infinitely better than MTV because it played videos MTV would never air, this was one of my favorites.

So Philip Bailey may or may not be a one-hit-wonder, depending on your definition, and this isn’t the song that began the argument in the first place. But it’s a good song, and I hope you enjoy it.

Posted by Tommy Marx June 9th, 2009

I love one-hit-wonders, so I thought it would be interesting to write about them. I’m just starting to discover what I want this blog about, and unfortunately, many of the topics I like to discuss are on the serious side. I figured writing about music might lighten the tone a bit.

I’ve been trying to write about Rob, Arnie and Dawn’s infamous radio show condemning transgendered adults and children, but I can’t even make it through the complete audio. I’ve never heard such hatred and anger aimed at something so innocuous.

They claim transgendered people are drama queens looking for attention, ignoring the fact that most of them do everything possible to avoid any attention (being abused, beaten and murdered tends to make some people a little shy). They don’t explain, unless it’s later in the program, why the existence of people biologically trapped in the incorrect gender are so offensive to them. Seriously, listening to them rant is enough to make you wish you could spend an hour alone with a chainsaw and them in a locked room.

Which brings us back to music, because quite honestly, I’m too old for this other shit. I want to talk about something I enjoy.

Fifteen or sixteen years ago, I took a part-time job at Wal-Mart during the Christmas season to make some extra cash (my full-time job paid almost enough to qualify me as not living in poverty). I worked in the entertainment section, and one night, flipping through channels on one of the television sets on display, I ran across a Canadian music video station. They played many American acts and Canadian crossovers, but they also played a few artists I’d never heard of and never seen on MTV or heard on the radio.

One of the videos I watched was “Insensitive” by Jann Arden. From the first time I heard her song, I fell in love with the words, the melody, and most of all, her gorgeous voice. Everytime I had to work from then on, I’d change one of the television sets to display the Canadian channel, and I’d wait for them to pray “Insensitive.” I thought it was amazing that such a fantastic song wasn’t a major hit in the United States.

Then, a couple months after I stopped working at Wal-Mart, I heard “Insensitive” played on the radio. Evidently the song had been added to the Bed of Roses movie soundtrack, and it ended up becoming the hit I always believed it would be. “Insensitive” spent ten months on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, eventually peaking at the twelfth position.

Jann Arden has reportedly had 17 top-ten singles in Canada and has won eight Juno awards. But in the United States, this was the only song to ever chart. (Her version of “You Don’t Know Me” for the My Best Friend’s Wedding movie soundtrack was heart-breaking, easily the best cover of that song I’ve ever heard, but as far as I know, it was never even promoted as a single.)

Still, for those of us lucky enough to have purchased her “Living Under June” CD – an excellent album that also has the amazing “Good Mother” track – she may be a one-hit-wonder in the US, but she’s anything but in our hearts.