80’s music

U.S. Drag

| Chris

mpDoes anyone remember this song from Missing Persons? Does anyone remember Missing Persons, period? One of the few new wave bands of the 80’s that I really really dug, they combined typical 80’s pop with technical proficiency. After all, they’re remnants of Frank Zappa’s group. That alone should tell you how good these guys are. Although, their more popular tunes include Destination Unknown, Words and Give – and this is because of their obvious pop sensibilities.

However, if you want to hear (or better yet, see) them flaunt their chops, you gotta check out songs like U.S. Drag. It’s kind of like a disjointed funk. Beware of dancing to this tune – you might sprain your ankles.

Who ya callin’ dude, dude?

| Chris

I hate to say it, but I dreaded a lot of music from the 80’s due to its excessive and outlandish nature. But that’s just me. Though every once in a while came a splash of relief in the form of either pure musical genius or novelty entertainment. And other times, luck striked and you got both. At one point for me, it was the band Scatterbrain.

sctrbrnDuring the peak of metal’s reign, at the time when groups were either outdoing each other’s hairdo or were trying to play faster than they did yesterday, Scatterbrain infused a sense of humor into their act. Fusing technical proficiency with comical elements, they provided serious chops without the need to take it all too seriously. You were definitely entertained. I know, I was.

When I first heard the song Don’t Call Me Dude on the radio, it definitely got my attention. But I was even more delighted to see the song enhanced further by its music video.

By the way, I know, but I’m easily amused. Pardon me.

You named your band what?

| Chris

say wot?

If you want to hear the stupidest sounding band names in rock, look no further than the 80’s New Wave scene. I mean, why in God’s green earth would you want to be known as… Scritti Politti? Or A-ha, Oingo Boingo, Bananarama, Bronski Beat, Kajagoogoo, Men Without Hats, Wang Chung, Prefab Sprout, The The,  and Haircut 100, for that matter? I’m sure you’ve already thought of other ones I missed to include on this list.

So, did these groups’ imagination suddenly run dry or did they simply wish to annoy the masses with monickers that are just simply too hideous to ignore?

Anyhow, let me just get back to listening to some good ol’ prog rock. Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe, in particular. Uh no, those aren’t my lawyers, thank you very much.