Martha Coolidge's 1983 directorial debut, based loosely on the Frank and Moon Zappa (who weren't involved with the film) novelty hit of the previous year, carried a budget so low that it didn't even generate a soundtrack album when it was released. Based on the same general themes as Romeo and Juliet, Valley Girl, "a film littered with spot on captures of 80s youth," was Nicolas Coppola's debut as Nicolas Cage.
Valley Girl's producers were also savvy enough to tap into LA radio outlet KROQ's pioneering "Rock of the 80s" format, and Rhino's unofficial soundtrack release captures much of the spunky essence of KROQ. The music from Valley Girl "fondly recalls an era when rock's fun quotient hadn't yet been tattooed and pierced into oblivion."
Track List: 1. A Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls 2. Johnny, Are You Queer? - Josie Cotton 3. Eyes Of A Stranger - Payolas 4. Angst In My Pants - Sparks 5. Who Can It Be Now? - Men At Work 6. Everywhere At Once - The Plimsouls 7. I La La La Love You - Pat Travers' Black Pearl 8. He Could Be The One - Josie Cotton 9. Love My Way - Psychedelic Furs 10. Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime) - The Flirts 11. The Fanatic - Felony 12. She Talks In Stereo - Gary Myrick & The Figures 13. Oldest Story In The World - The Plimsouls 14. School Is In - Josie Cotton 15. I Melt With You - Modern English
Material: Jerry McCulley via amazon.com & Truly Dazzlin' via amazon.com
Culture Club frontman Boy George's North American summer tour is in doubt after U.S. authorities refused to issue him a visa, citing looming legal issues overseas.
George's 24-date North American trek was scheduled to begin July 11 at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, and wrap Aug. 23 at the House of Blues in Dallas.
"At the moment, Boy George cannot come to the United States of America because he has been refused permission to enter by the USA Administration," read a statement from the artist's management. "This is not in respect of anything he has done in the past but because he is facing a trial in November in London for something that happened in April last year."
George was arrested last year after a 28-year-old male escort from Norway accused the singer/DJ of false imprisonment and assault. George later denied the allegations and was released on bail.
"George's lawyers in London have absolutely forbidden us to speak about the facts of that case and all I can say is that George is astounded at the decision and is having lawyers here in the States look at it in the hope that someone will change their mind," the statement continued. "George really would love to come to America and repay his American fans loyalty and that is why we are asking the US Authorities to reconsider their decision."
In 2001, George supported the release of his Essential Mix collection with a brief DJ-tour of the U.S. George has also toured and performed DJ sets in Australia, Asia, Europe and Canada.
Photo: Reuters/Alessia Pierdomenico via sfgate.com Material: Mitchell Peters via billboard.com
(And why many of the blessings of this blog flow from him.)
When Tony Wilson died of a heart attack last August, grieving friends of the broadcaster, Hacienda and Factory Records boss, were keen to pay a fitting tribute. They were conscious of two things; that memories fade fast, and statues get sat on by pigeons.
Peter Saville, the city of Manchester's creative director, took the lead, and came up with The Tony Wilson Experience. Billed as a 24-hour conversation, the aim of last Saturday's event was to keep the spirit of a late, great Mancunian alive, and to be a place where up and coming talents can pick the brains of successful creatives who knew Wilson.
The event took inspiration from Swiss art critic Hans Ulrich Obrist's 24 Hour Interview Marathon, which Saville attended at the Serpentine Gallery in 2006.
Among those that took part in the "24-hour conversation were novelist Irvine Welsh, Charlatans front man Tim Burgess, author Simon Armitage, Creation Records founder Alan McGee, broadcaster Stuart Maconie, comedy actor Steve Coogan, and New Order bassist Peter Hook."
Saville's relationship with Wilson began in early 1978. At the time Saville was a 22 year-old art student, admittedly envious of his friend Malcolm Garrett, who was already designing NME ads for Buzzcocks.
Saville pestered Buzzcocks' manager, Richard Boon, for a design opportunity, and was pointed in Wilson's direction.
Manchester had already established a reputation as a great venue for punk gigs, and Wilson was starting a club night that would ride the new wave. Saville would eventually meet Wilson at Granada Studios, and show him the Jan Tschichold work that inspired him. Wilson gave him a shot.
Saville says they only realised they were 'best friends' in the late Nineties. Saville describes Factory as like the solar system, "You have to make Tony, unfortunately, the sun," he jokes. "His personality, energy and enthusiasm were the mass that brought other people into orbit around him."
Saville says: "Without Tony the last quarter century would have been very different; you take away a big part of the city's psychological regeneration. He made Manchester relevant to several generations of young people worldwide. Tony's name will be as synonymous with Manchester as Rylands or Chetham - more so because he was accessible. The memory of Tony Wilson will continue to resonate and continue because it's the last true story in pop."
Why, Waist High, do you speak about Tony Wilson so much? Ah, I'm glad you asked. Tony Wilson, inspired by a gig in Manchester in 1976, went on to form Factory Records, and was hugely instrumental in the development of the music that forms the basis of this blog.
Wilson was in the audience on Jun. 4, 1976, at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall, for a Sex Pistols gig that some refer to as, "The Gig That Changed the World." The concert "has become legendary as a catalyst to the punk rock movement and New Wave."
David Nolan, author of I Swear I Was There: The Gig That Changed The World, says of the 1976 event, "It's because it's one of those moments in popular culture whereby you can put your finger on it and say: that was it, that was the day, that was the time, that was the year that was the precise moment when everything took a left turn. And that is the music that we're listening to now, the clubs we have in Manchester, the way we buy records, the independent music scene, basically came out of that audience."
In a clip from 24 Hour Party People, with Steve Coogan as Wilson, you my fine reader can catch a small glimpse of Tony Wilson's role in the changing of the world. Go there now, you'll begin to understand.
The original members of Simple Minds are said to be back in the studio working together for the first time in 27 years. In an event that many never thought would happen again, Brian McGee, Derek Forbes, Mick McNeil, Jim Kerr, and Charlie Burchill, have set their aim on producing at least two new tracks that could be released later this year. Regarded by both Jim and Charlie as a "nice experiment," particularly as it falls within their 30 year anniversary, the week-long reformation is being viewed as one of many "let's see what happens" ideas that they look forward to working on over the course of the next year.
Kerr says, "Of course I am excited with the prospect of working with the original line-up once more. I had always believed that the day would come when we would get the opportunity to do so. The last time we worked together was on our Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call album, featuring songs like 'The American,' 'Themes for Great Cities,' 'Love Song' etc, and it is still considered by many as among our best ever work. We have a lot to live up to, but we intend to have some fun attempting to do just that."
The debut album by Waist High favorite Tears for Fears, The Hurting was the group's first #1 on the UK Album Chart.
For this LP (and the next), keyboard player and composer Ian Stanley and drummer Manny Elias were considered full members of the band, though Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal were still essentially the frontmen and public faces.
The Hurting, produced by Chris Hughes and Ross Cullum, showcased synthesizer-based songs with lyrics reflecting Orzabal's bitter childhood and upbringing. The Hurting can be considered Tears for Fears' only true concept album, as references to emotional distress and primal therapy are found in nearly every song.
The album strongly bears the behind the scenes influence of Daniel Lichtblau, commonly thought of as the "fifth" TFF member, owing to his premature departure from the group just as they were on the cusp of real fame. Lichtblau, a pianist, was a big proponent of the "double keyboard" effect that characterizes their early sound and is prevalent on this album.
The album itself was a big success and had a lengthy chart run (65 weeks) in the UK, also reaching the Top 20 in several countries and yielding the singles "Mad World," "Change," and a re-recorded version of "Pale Shelter," (all of which were top 5 in the UK).
"Mad World" was also Tears for Fears' first international hit, reaching the Top 40 in several countries.
"Mad World" would achieve a second round of success after it was recorded by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules for the film Donnie Darko in 2001.
Originally released in 2002 on the film's soundtrack, Donnie Darko's increasing cult following spawned by the movie's DVD release finally prompted Jules and Andrews to issue the song as a proper single. The release was a runaway success in late 2003, becoming the #1 single over the Christmas holiday in the UK, a feat the original version never managed to accomplish.
Photo: The Waist High Collection Material: wikipedia.org
Say hello to The 80s Underground, a brand new blog from the host of The 80s Underground, "a weekly radio show that resurrects the best in 80's indie, college, punk, post-punk, new wave, and modern rock." The show broadcasts every Wednesday morning from 9-11 on 103.3 fm in Santa Clara, CA, and online at kscu.org.
The truth he speaks: "One of the great things about music (especially for over-the-hill geezers like myself) is its profound ability to etch a detailed history in one's memory banks: the time, place, sights and smells...maybe even the state of mind you had when you heard some great song album, or some great movement that changed the way you felt about music forever.
"For me it was discovering a radio station in 1982 that, after years of being seeded in bloated corporate rock of the 70's, began anew with a fledgling new format called 'modern rock.' While that station (KROQ) still owes its existence to the corporate behemoth, it was single-handedly responsible for bringing a slew of incredible new sounds to geeky, potch-faced suburbanites like myself who desperately wanted more out of music than Journey, REO Speedwagon and Van Halen could ever hope to offer.
"Of course, a huge debt of gratitude is owed to Rodney Bingenheimer, the Godfather of the LA Punk/Underground scene and still a current staple at KROQ. It was Sir Rodney who first brought those sounds to the airwaves, as far back as 1979, when he was brazen enough to play the first Germs record on commercial radio!"
Boy George has announced a tour of the US and Canada which will see him perform all across the continent for the first time in ten years.
The tour, which kicks off Jul. 10 in Aspen, will run through Aug. 23, where it will wind up in Dallas, TX.
The tour dates are:
Aspen, CO Belly Up (July 10) Las Vegas, NV House of Blues (July 11) San Diego, CA Concerts In The Park (July 12) Anaheim, CA The Grove Of Anaheim (July 13) Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre (July 15) Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre (July 16) San Francisco, CA Regency Center - Grand Ballroom (July 18) Vancouver, BC The Commodore Ballroom (July 21) Calgary, AB Flames Central (July 22) Edmonton, AB Edmonton Events Centre (July 23) Pompano Beach, FL Club Cinema (July 25) Orlando, FL Hard Rock Hotel Orlando (July 26) St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing (July 27) N. Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues SC (July 29) Washington, DC 9:30 Club (July 30) Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre (August 1) Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues (August 3) Westbury, NY Theatre at Westbury (August 5) Chicago, IL House of Blues (August 7) Toronto, ON Kool Haus (August 10) Montreal, QC Metropolis (August 12) New York, NY Terminal 5 (August 14) Austin, TX Stubb's BBQ (August 21) Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater (August 22) Dallas, TX House of Blues (August 23)
Bryan Ferry covers Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love."
So says Waist High's manfriend. No wait, special friend. No wait, FWB: "wow. didnt know he did a dylan cover. ALMOST made me cry... almost. i like bryan ferry too. have almost everything he's recorded... betcha didnt know that."
Please send all suggestions for what to call your manfriend. No wait, special friend. No wait, FWB when you are a 40 year old broad to waisthigh@waisthigh.net.
Paul Weller says he has no regrets about splitting up The Jam - and has repeated his distaste for the current reunion without him. The band split in 1982 at Weller's behest, but drummer Rick Buckler and bassist Bruce Foxton recently formed a new version of the group, From The Jam, with a different singer.
However, speaking to BBC 6Music's Music Week show, the original frontman says there is no going back for him.
"It was the right thing to do. It was an artistic decision, without sounding poncey. I didn't want to be in the same set up for the rest of my life. I like to change and move on," Weller explained.
"Do I miss it? No, not particularly. I quite like what today is. It was a lot of pressure, being that kind of spokesman for a generation. Whether it was my own fault for setting myself up or not, I don't know, but it was a lot of pressure for a young man. I certainly didn't miss that."
Weller added he would not be attending his old bandmates shows any time soon.
"I'm not mad about the idea, it's a bit cabaret to me," he explained. "I thought we were against all that."
In response, Jam drummer Rick Buckler said, "I don't understand the spleen-venting. It is totally out of the blue and I was shocked by it.
"In the Jam days, we were quite a unified force. We had to be. I don't know why he's got it in for me - we haven't spoken since 1983. You can understand my bemusement. The Jam was a band, it wasn't just Paul Weller."
Weller's first album in three years, 22 Dreams, will be released this summer. The first single, "Echoes Round the Sun," was co-written with Noel Gallagher.
Photo: BBC Radio via bbc.co.uk Material: nme.com & independent.co.uk
