song of the day – “Sacrificial Bonfire” | XTC | 1986.

You ever notice how the last 10 days of every year are always jam-packed with events and holidays?  You start with the awesome Winter Solstice, then Xmas Eve and Xmas Day (sometimes there are years, like this year, when Hannukah falls around that same 10-day period), and then it’s New Year’s Eve.  There are countries around the globe which have other holidays they observe in those last 10 days of the year as well (Canada’s Boxing Day comes to mind, prolly because Bob & Doug McKenzie remind me about it every year I listen to their version of “The Twelve Days Of Christmas,” from their 1981 comedy album, THE GREAT WHITE NORTH).

Bob & Doug McKenzie, celebrating the Twelve Days Of Christmas in The Great White North, 1981.

I can’t vouch for any other countries, but for as long as I can remember, here in the U.S. anyway, until about 6:00pm Xmas Eve (and to borrow from the brilliant NBC TV show, THE GOOD PLACE),  it’s a forking shirtshow.  I’m sure Mary’s Boy Child, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself didn’t have that in mind about Xmas back in the day.  But, like clockwork, once Xmas is over, and for the last six days of the year, it goes from everything Xmas to everything revisited from the past year — a parade of seemingly endless lists featuring the best and worst of everything from the year almost gone by.

But, December 31, 2019 will not only be the end the year, it’s the end of the decade as well.  And, for me, this decade had some moments, both good and bad…

In this past decade, I lost the best job I ever had (so far), followed by unemployment for the first time in my life, and later temp work (which led to the job I’m currently in, as of this writing, anyway).

The poster for the last regular STUCK IN THE 80s show, 2.12.2017.

The 2010s saw the end of my long-running radio show, STUCK IN THE 80s, after nearly 21 years, with a celebration on my 50th birthday where Maryhope, Jedi Master Shawn Emerick and I braved the Valentine’s weekend blizzard of 2017, the three of us shared the air for one more time together, shut down the station after the show, and I even got to “drop the mic.”

Shawn Emerick, Maryhope and me, WMPG-FM, 2.12.2017, being STUCK IN THE 80s together one more time.

The last couple of years, though, and this year in particular, have been among the hardest in my life.  In mid-December 2017, I lost my biological baby brother, Mark.  In early October of this year, my adopted baby brother Jonn, such an incredible spirit, the father of two amazing girls (ages 11 and 7), and a two-time Iraq war veteran, died unexpectedly at just 32.  And, in early July 2019, one of the strongest and most incredible and loving men I’ve ever known, Maryhope’s dad, Dennis, passed away, surrounded by family from all over.  I haven’t properly written blog posts about them yet, and I promise there will be blog posts, or long distance dedications, if you will, on the way in the New Year dedicated to Jonn and Dennis.

Me and my brother Jonn and one of my favorite photos of the two of us, from Thanksgiving 2017.

The high point of the 2010s, though, for me, is finding the love of my life after a 50-year search, and she was right there the whole time — my best friend, Maryhope.  She has inspired me in so many ways, from getting me into new (old) music to writing this blog, from embracing my inner hippie to running again for the first time in decades (inspiring my training for a 5K for the first time in my life); from eating better, getting me to try yoga, meditation and tea (and loving all of it) to being at my lowest weight in 24 years.  She is the light in my life and the love of my life, and to borrow from a sweet, amazing song by Ben Folds, I am the luckiest.

Me and Maryhope, Pine Point, Scarborough, Maine, 10.24.2019.

This past decade, I’ve had the best New Year’s Eves of my entire life — with Maryhope.  A couple of years ago, for New Year’s Eve 2017, we even took over the WMPG airwaves for eight-and-a-half hours that night, though it didn’t start out that way.  We were only supposed to be on the air for four hours, I believe, in our old time slots on Sunday night, but then other hosts asked if we would fill in for them too.  Four hours turned into six, then to eight-and-a-half, which put us 90 minutes into 2018!  In all the years I’ve been on the radio, I’ve had the most fun (and done my best work) on the air with Maryhope.  We had a such a great time making radio and ringing in the New Year on the air.

The 2017 poster for our epic 8 1/2 hour New Year’s Dance Party welcoming in 2018.

It’s the subject of ringing in the New Year that inspired me to write one more blog post this year, which itself is inspired by one of my favorite songs by England’s XTC that really was the perfect choice: “Sacrificial Bonfire” from the 1986 Todd Rundgren-produced masterpiece, SKYLARKING.

It took awhile, but over the years, I grew to love the music of XTC, and while “Dear God” may have inspired me (and many others) to buy the album, 33 years later, SKYLARKING remains as one of my all-time favorite albums, though interestingly enough, not for “Dear God” (which wasn’t on the original album release). 

NERDY CHART FACT: Out of the 14 albums XTC released between 1978 and 2000 (including two albums by the XTC side project, The Dukes Of Stratosphear), SKYLARKING is still often regarded today as their best album, but strangely enough, it’s their lowest-charting album in the U.K., spending only a week on the U.K. album chart at No. 90.  Here in the U.S., SKYLARKING peaked at a respectable No. 70 on the BILLBOARD album chart, but three of their other albums – 1980’s BLACK SEA, 1982’s ENGLISH SETTLEMENT, and 1989’s ORANGES & LEMONS, all charted higher.

NERDY TUBE-ULAR FUN FACTS: XTC co-founder and drummer Terry Chambers left the band in 1982, and for stepping in on drums for SKYLARKING was Prairie Prince, the drummer for The Tubes.  Prairie Prince was credited on the album as “the part of the time bomb,” while special thanks were given to The Tubes themselves (“who let us use their amplifiers”). 

Vocalist and guitarist Andy Partridge wrote most of the songs on SKYLARKING, while bassist and vocalist Colin Moulding wrote five songs, including the album’s gorgeous closer, “Sacrificial Bonfire.”

The first 10 seconds of the song starts with a soft echo of subtle, yet prominent pounding drums which grow louder with each second, and segues into a beautiful, Pagan-inspired guitar bit that Colin Moulding described in a 1998 interview as “a a touch of ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ and a bit of Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’ in it, I suppose.  But I wasn’t moralizing.  It was just that this was an evil piece of music and good would triumph over it.”

Todd Rundgren added a stunning eight-piece string arrangement to the song, and Andy Partridge, in the same 1998 interview, agreed: “It was a good ending to the album, fading deep into the night.  It just leaves you in blackness with the slightest hint that dawn is coming.”

I keep coming back to the lines “Change must be earned / Sacrificial bonfire must burn / Burn up the old / Ring in the new / Burn up the old, ring in the new…” 

2019 had some truly amazing moments in it, like going to New York with Maryhope the first weekend in January and seeing Strawberry Fields, The Met, The Cloisters and unintentionally being part of a street dance routine near Times Square, but overall it was a hard year.  For me, I think “Sacrificial Bonfire” exudes hope that when you “burn up the old” and “ring in the New,” or “reign in the good” and “banish the bad,” there’s that strong chance, that strong belief, that strong, deep feeling inside you that the next year will be better.  And I believe that, I really do.

So, let’s go to take the advice from the boys out of Swindon, “burn up the old” and “ring in the New,” and I truly wish that your 2020 is full of hope and excitement and peace, a new U.S. president, and a much-belated Rock Hall nod for Cyndi Lauper (for starters), and to borrow from John Lennon, who would have been 80 in 2020, I hope it’s a good one, without any fear…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiVhg2_aVtg

XTC, 1986, from L to R: Dave Gregory, Andy Partridge, Colin Moulding.

this is not america.

I feel numb.  No, I’m not quoting the 1993 U2 song “Numb,” although the lyric is the same.  I am still feeling numb about the end result of the 2016 presidential election here in America.  On Tuesday, November 8, 2016 – Election Day here in the U.S. – I used the white noise of the election coverage to help me sleep.  It was early in the election, and many of the states’ results hadn’t come in.  And, for about six hours, I slept pretty well.  Then, at about 2:45am Eastern time, I woke up to Donald Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, speaking.  And right below was the heartbreaking caption, “Clinton Calls Trump To Concede Election.”  After about six hours of kick-ass sleep, I woke up to a fucking nightmare.

Then Donald Trump came out and spoke to everyone about the victory, and congratulated Hillary Clinton and her family on a “very, very hard-fought campaign” and how “we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service for our country.  I mean that very sincerely.”  And, at that moment, Donald Trump did sound sincere, the most even remotely sincere I’ve ever heard him sound throughout this whole show.  It was all bullshit, and reminded me of what an old girlfriend once said to me many years ago about an old boyfriend of hers, and how he was “sincere about his insincerities.”  If you can understand that sentiment, then you’re smarter than I am.

I was perusing through Facebook the night of the election, to see how everyone was feeling, and the momentum for Hillary Clinton to win the Presidency was evident.  My dear friend Shawn in NYC wrote, “Eight years ago I was sitting on the couch watching the election results come in holding my then one-month old son.  Tonight my eight-year-old son is sitting next to me watching the election results come in.  I don’t care what your political leanings are.  My son was born into a world where an African-American man was and a woman might become president of the United States.  I think that’s f*cking awesome.”

I’ve been a longtime Democrat, and I can honestly say that Hillary was not my first choice as President this time around, though she was in 2008.  But there was no way on God’s Green Earth I would even consider voting for Donald Trump.  I can also honestly say that, with the barrage of hate Donald Trump was spewing throughout the entire campaign – against Hillary and President Bill Clinton, against women, against the LBGTQ community, against President Obama, against minorities and even against people in his own party – I didn’t think he had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting elected. 

Just hours after waking up to the nightmare of Donald Trump winning the electoral vote, I had to head to work, where one work neighbor didn’t even like Trump but voted for him because she didn’t want Hillary in there, and another work neighbor who was crying that afternoon because Trump won and she was scared.  Broke my heart.  And it doesn’t stop there.  I have friends, many friends spanning the country who are crying and upset and worried about losing their heath insurance, fearing for what’s going to happen to their gay friends and the lives they’ve made with their partners and spouses, and the status and safety of people who call America their home but wasn’t always their home.  I have all of those concerns too. 

After the election results, in a Facebook post, my friend Shawn brilliantly said, “I think a lot of people who voted for Trump are going to realize (hopefully sooner than later) that they’ve been sold a bill of goods.  Hillary will not be locked up; there will be no wall between the US and Mexico; Muslims will not be deported; there is going to be no mass influx of jobs; no one is going to be a millionaire as a result of his presidency because Trump either can’t or never had any intention of delivering on any of these things, and when that happens things are going to get very ugly because there’s no putting that genie back in the bottle now. 

“Remember a few years after the Iraq War started and dead soldiers started coming home by the hundreds?  All of sudden those very same people who were all for invading Iraq suddenly got buyer’s remorse.  I have a feeling that many of those same folks voted for Donald today.  Trump was the hand grenade they lobbed at Washington hoping to ‘shake things up.’  Unfortunately, that grenade’s a dud.”

For the second time in five elections, the (incredibly outdated) Electoral College votes have outweighed the popular vote, OR (if you prefer), for the second time in five elections, the candidate people have voted for the most is NOT the candidate that got elected…

That Wednesday morning, I told my dear and incredibly talented friend, Hope, that I was having a hard time concentrating and getting through the day.  She said some really kind things that I needed to hear that day (we’re both card-carrying members of the Mutual Appreciation Society). 

You know, I’ve never really considered myself as a fighter, and contrary to what I’m writing here in this blog post, I try to be as apolitical as I can, but Hope said to me, “You’re a fighter now, as much as you deny being political.  We all fight in our own way.  You finally realize that you matter.  And now that you know you can be on your path, fight the good fight in your way and be true to you.  PS it helps if you get an awesome song in your head.  Whenever your coworkers gloat about America’s ‘victory’ [they thankfully didn’t], just start mentally singing ‘Fight The Power.’  Or similar.”

And, for the rest of the day, I did think about select “Fight” songs in addition to the Public Enemy gem, including “(You’ve Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” by those awesome Beastie Boys,  Ben Folds’ “Still Fighting It,” “Come Out Fighting” by Easterhouse, “Fighting Spirit” by Madonna (a bonus track from her brilliant 2005 album, CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR), and Pat Benatar’s “Fight It Out” (from her 1982 album, GET NERVOUS).  Actually had that one on my mind a lot that day.  (“You gotta fight it out with your heart / You got to fight it, though it tears you apart / You got to fight it out, my friend / You got to do it for yourself / You got to say when…”)

Honey, we’re already there…

About the post-election “fight,” Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (who remains on my short list to run for President) said, “You can either lie down, you can whimper, you can pull up in a ball, you can decide to move to Canada, or you can stand your ground and fight back.”  That’s damn right.

One of the things that bothered me most about Trump’s victory speech and beyond was the sudden call for unity by Donald Trump, when over the course of the past year and a half, he disparaged several groups of people.  How can you suddenly have people unite after something like that?!  To quote the title of the haunting and surprise 1985 David Bowie / Pat Metheny Top 40 hit, “This is NOT America.  The States are no longer United.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen the country so divided politically as it is right now.  I get it, President Obama and other leaders around the globe and here want to make peace and have a smooth transition between Presidents.  But, I’m here to tell you, it’s something else.  And it’s not going to be smooth for half of this country. 

And this sentiment was expressed greatly on Facebook the day after the election.  That Wednesday, Hope posted, “I’ve been reading posts this morning from people I know who voted for Trump.  ‘Let’s put differences aside.  Let’s stop harassing each other for having different political views.  Let’s all be Americans together.’  Fuck that.”

Can I get an Amen?

AMEN!

My friend Shawn in NYC added, “I am so tired of hearing this morning from people who have done nothing but divide for the past 8 years talk about the divisiveness in America and how it is time to come together and heal and unite.  Fuck that shit.”

Can I get another Amen?

AMEN!

I’m not sure why, but I waited until today to watch Hillary Clinton’s moving concession speech from Wednesday, November 9th.  One of my other co-workers is really taking this election result hard, and he recommended I watch the speech.  So, maybe I wanted to wait to share this post with you until after I watched a gracious Hillary Clinton be Presidential, even if the Electoral College said otherwise.

Here are parts of the speech I wanted to share and incorporate into this blog post:

“I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too.  And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort.  This is painful, and it will be for a long time.  But I want you to remember this.

“Our campaign was never about one person, or even one election.  It was about the country we love and about building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted.  We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought.  But I still believe in America, and I always will.  And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future.  Donald Trump is going to be our president.  We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power.

“We don’t just respect that.  We cherish it.  It also enshrines other things: the rule of law; the principle we are all equal in rights and dignity; freedom of worship and expression.  We respect and cherish these values, too, and we must defend them.

“Let me add: Our constitutional democracy demands our participation, not just every four years, but all the time.  So let’s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear.  Making our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top, protecting our country and protecting our planet.

“And breaking down all the barriers that hold any American back from achieving their dreams.  We spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the American dream is big enough for everyone.

“For people of all races, and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and people with disabilities.  For everyone…

“This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.  It is, it is worth it.  And so we need — we need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives…

“I count my blessings every single day that I am an American, and I still believe, as deeply as I ever have, that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strengthen our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us.

“Because, you know, I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together.  And you should never, ever regret fighting for that.  You know, scripture tells us, let us not grow weary of doing good, for in good season we shall reap, if we do not lost heart.  My friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary, let us not lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do…”

Last night on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (11.12.2016), Kate McKinnon, who did a tremendous job impersonating Hillary Clinton during the Presidential campaign, sang (as Hillary Clinton) an incredible version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” at the beginning of the show.  Afterwards, she said, “I’m not giving up.  And neither should you.”  That’s Goddamn right.

Apart from the comments by my dear friends Hope (thank you!) and Shawn (thank you!), by Kate McKinnon of SNL and from Secretary Clinton’s speech, these thoughts are all my own.  I am friends with many folks who voted for Donald Trump, and I am friends with many (like me) who voted for Hillary Clinton.  I put up a simple post about the election on Facebook at 3:25 that Wednesday morning, and I didn’t expect the response(s) I got.  I even had a couple of longtime friends battling it out with each other well after I hid the post from my timeline.  I don’t like to see my friends going at each other about anything, let alone politics.  Politics are not worth losing a friend over.  Just sayin’. 

In an ongoing effort by many online to break the Internet with love, the next several posts will be dedicated to some songs from 1979 through 1989 that are universally loved to this day.  So far, I’ve got songs by Cyndi Lauper, The Knack, Simple Minds, The Clash and David Bowie on the list.  If you know of an 80s song that you believe is universally loved still, you let me know.  I’ll add it to the ever-growing list, with my thanks.

And though I’m wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’ that everything will turn out alright, for right now, I just can’t see it, and for right now, I’m still feeling numb.  But, I’m not giving up.  And neither should you…

I’m your Benevolent 80s Overlord, Ron Raymond, Jr., and I approved this blog post…

#BreakTheInternetWithLove

#LoveWillAlwaysTrumpHate

(real) one-hit wonder of the week – “Video Killed The Radio Star” | THE BUGGLES | 1979.

Between late 1979 and the end of 1989, there were nearly 500 (real) one-hit wonders of the 80s that reached the BILLBOARD Hot 100 just one time, a list that includes Soft Cell, Gary Numan, Timbuk 3, The Church, Bronski Beat, Nik Kershaw, The Waitresses, Ultravox and two different bands named The Silencers.  Once a week, I’ll highlight a (real) one-hit wonder for you.

This is prolly the most-predictable blog post I’ve done so far, but I can’t help it.  For those who don’t already know, today (8.1.2016) is the 35th Anniversary of the launch of MTV (short for Music Television, when there was such a beautiful thing).

At midnight on August 1, 1981, MTV was born – a cable network (and there weren’t many of them back then) that specialized in playing short, 3-or-4-minute films set to music, or simply put, music videos.  Singers and bands had been making these short-form music videos for years, but hardly anyone ever got to see them…until MTV made its debut on cable TV boxes (almost) everywhere.

MTV moon landing, August 1, 1981, 12:00 midnight.

The powers that be at MTV thought it might be a fun choice to launch the network with a song called “Video Killed The Radio Star” by a band called The Buggles, a song that was a minor hit in America two years earlier by a London band who would no longer exist by the end of 1981.  It was prolly a hard sell at the time (or not), and in retrospect, it was THE only choice to kick off MTV.

The Buggles were a New Wave band (in the early days of New Wave) and formed in London in 1977.  The band consisted of just two members – singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoffrey Downes.  You prolly know those names from other acts, and I’ll come on to that in a bit. 

The original 1977 version of “Video Killed The Radio Star.”

Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes would release their first single, “Video Killed The Radio Star,” in early September 1979.  The song was co-written by Trevor and Geoff, along with fellow New Waver Bruce Woolley in 1977, who first recorded that year as Bruce Woolley And The Camera Club (featuring the brilliant Thomas Dolby on keyboards). 

At the time, “Video Killed The Radio Star” was a stand-alone single (parent album THE AGE OF PLASTIC wouldn’t be released until January 1980), and its cute, synthpop creaminess helped it become a massive international hit. 

“Video Killed The Radio Star” reached No. 1 in (at least) the U.K., Austria and Sweden (1 week), Ireland and Switzerland (2 weeks), Spain (4 weeks), Australia (7 weeks), France (12 weeks), and in Italy, where it spent 14 weeks at No. 1 (or, literally the entire spring of 1980).  It also reached the Top 10 in Belgium, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa.

When MTV debuted with “Video Killed The Radio Star” as the first video to air on the network, I was (and remain) glad that it’s remembered for something more here in America than its disappointing chart performance on the BILLBOARD Hot 100.  The song spent a lone week in the Top 40 at No. 40 in mid-December 1979, and was gone from the chart after 10 weeks.  In a list put out by BILLBOARD in 2015, “Video Killed The Radio Star” tied with Marvin Gaye’s 1970 version of Gladys Knight’s “The End Of Our Road” as the “Biggest Hot 100 Hit” that peaked at No. 40.

In 1980, following the release of The Buggles’ debut album, THE AGE OF PLASTIC (with “Video Killed The Radio Star”), Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes joined another London band,Yes, and recorded the album, DRAMA, after Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman had left the group.  Trevor Horn sang lead vocals and it was the only Yes album to feature him as lead vocalist.  But, despite a No. 2 chart peak for DRAMA in the U.K., the new Yes lineup was not well-received, and Yes disbanded by the end of 1980.

In early 1981, on the day The Buggles were supposed to start recording their second album, Geoff Downes quit the band to help form the “supergroup” Asia with guitarist Steve Howe (of Yes), John Wetton (bassist and vocalist bands like King Crimson, Roxy Music and Uriah Heep) and Carl Palmer (drummer for Emerson, Lake & Palmer).

Undeterred and still carrying on the Buggles name, Trevor Horn secured funds to record and release the second album, ADVENTURES IN MODERN RECORDING.  Despite Trevor’s efforts, the album was a huge disappointment, reaching No. 161 on the BILLBOARD album chart and not even charting in his U.K. homeland.

By the time of the second album’s release, you could find Trevor Horn producing THE LEXICON OF LOVE, the debut album for the Sheffield, England New Wave band, ABC.  What followed is an amazing career that continues today.  Not only did Trevor Horn rejoin Yes for their huge 1983 comeback album, 90125 (which he produced), he also teamed up with The Art Of Noise, writing memorable hits like “Close (To The Edit)” and “Moments In Love.”

From there, Trevor Horn was everywhere.  He produced Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s 2-album debut, WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOME, the 12” mix of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (the biggest-selling U.K. single of the 80s), plus music for Grace Jones, Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, and most-recently, Billy Idol’s 2014 album, KINGS & QUEENS OF THE UNDERGROUND and Seal’s 2015 album, 7 (Trevor Horn has actually produced six of Seal’s 9 albums, starting with Seal’s 1991 self-titled debut).

Seal’s 2015 release, 7, produced by Trevor Horn.

Geoff Downes has released 13 albums with Asia since their monster 1982 debut to their 2014 album, GRAVITAS.  He also rejoined Yes (along with Trevor Horn) for the 2011 album, FLY FROM HERE.

There have been impromptu Buggles reunions here and there over the years, and in a statement I thought I would never, ever see, according to the BBC, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes reunited in the studio earlier this year “for more Buggles activity.”  I look forward to that.

In 2013, Heather Phares of allmusic.com said “[Video Killed The Radio Star] can be looked on as a perfectly preserved new wave gem [and] still sounds as immediate as it did when it was released, however, and that may be the song’s greatest irony.”

Speaking of irony, today (8.1.2016) also marks the demise of the wonderful VH1 Classic (famous for playing great 80s videos) and the debut of MTV Classic, highlighting (mostly non-music) programming from the 90s and beyond.  Sure, the new network was scheduled to rebroadcast the first hour of MTV from August 1, 1981, but don’t count on MTV Classic to bring you many more music videos.  While they will have I WANT MY 80s, 120 MINUTES and some old BEHIND THE MUSIC episodes, I’m betting they’ll be concentrating more on re-airing shows like THE REAL WORLD, TOTAL REQUEST LIVE and MTV CRIBS, shows I could really give two shits about.

MTV may be turning 35 today, but it’s hardly cause for celebration, as the once-great network for actual music television has, ironically enough, killed the video star (although to be fair, you can see pretty much every video known to man and woman somewhere on the interwebs).

MTV opinions and peak chart positions aside, I always liked “Video Killed The Radio Star.”  It is a quirky, fun song that, for awhile, I kinda thought was some sort of cool extension of ABBA.  Over the years, it’s been covered by the likes of The Presidents Of The United States Of America (for the 1998 Adam Sandler film, THE WEDDING SINGER), Pomplamoose, Pentatonix, Erasure, Ben Folds Five and even Alvin & The Chipmunks. 

I’m glad the song has endured for nearly 40 years now.  In fact, I’m betting it will outlast MTV.  Maybe Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes are working on a follow-up titled, “Video Killed The Radio Star, and MTV too.”  Guess we’ll have to wait to find out later for sure and just continue loving that original New Wave treasure…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwuy4hHO3YQ