Little Brett, Big City

Savvy marketers have used 80s songs in commercials for awhile now, trying to appeal to Generation X by raiding our old cassette collections. I think it's cute, validating even. Banks and insurance companies now think I'm worthy of their products! I spent a dozen years working at VH1, so I appreciate the power of nostalgia.  Fidelity Investments has been my clear favorite, lifting "Saved By Zero" from The Fixx; "More Than This" by Roxy Music, and "If You Leave" from OMD—forever tied to Molly Ringwald and "Pretty In Pink," no matter what commercial it lands in. Last year I LOL'd when Geico featured "new homeowners" who were thrilled with their house's character, crown molding, and walk-in closets. But they had a rat problem. Flash to the 80s metal band RATT performing their first big hit "Round and Round" in the attic, bathroom and then the kitchen to the annoyance of the residents. For fun, here's my autogra...

This week in 1989, Tone-Loc was blocked from the #1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 by Paula Abdul and her first hit song "Straight Up."  Sharp-eyed readers will note that this is the third mention of Abdul on this blog, something I never would have guessed when I launched this.  Anyway, Tone-Loc's "Wild Thing" rocketed into the hearts of music lovers around the world thanks to a classic hip hop move: Borrowing an element from something that was tired at the moment and re-inventing it for new audiences.   In this case, the song's guitar riff and drum roll were instantly identifiable from Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'" off their first album in 1978 (!) According to Wikipedia (the primary research resource here at "Little Brett, Big City"), the Van Halen management team allowed the sample to be included in "Wild Thing" for a flat fee of $5,000.  But apparently the band members hadn't heard anything about it. Drummer...

My 1989 began at Bowling Green State University with Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" still in the #1 spot on the Billboard chart.  Still catchy today, the song extended the reign of 80s music staple, the "power ballad." As their popularity grew, many metal bands aimed to crossover to pop heights by melting teen hearts with romantic odes to the challenges of love.  The tunes were often accompanied by videos where the notorious bad boys showed their softer sides with concert footage of themselves looking homesick and drunk: See Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" and Bon Jovi's "Never Say Goodbye." According to Wikipedia, Bret Michaels told VH1's "Behind The Music" that the inspiration for Poison's only #1 song came from a night when he was in a laundromat in Dallas waiting for his clothes to dry and called his girlfriend on a pay phone. Bret said he heard a male voice in the background and was devastated. He went back...

You can't talk about 1989 without talking about Milli Vanilli whose debut album hit #1 Christmas Week 31 years ago. And for the second time -- it had already reached the top albums spot on September 23.  I'm not going to dwell on their tragic status as the world's most notorious lip-synchers. But I still giggle when I see the video of them on a Club MTV tour and the backing tape kept skipping, "Girl you know it's-Girl you know it's-Girl you know it's..." Their second time at #1 was driven by single "Blame It On The Rain" which became their third #1 single off of their first disc.  I didn't add any of their hits to my cassingles collection (think more B-52s' "Love Shack" or Soul II Soul's "Back To Life.") But you couldn't deny that Milli Vanilli certainly had their moment.  Like prehistoric fossils, 80s videos preserved fleeting yet beloved moments of pop culture that have since crystallized into pillars of ...

Since this is Thanksgiving time, I wanted to share something a little different, a little special. Last week I mentioned Oleta Adams, the beautifully talented vocalist on the Tears For Fears album Seeds of Love . For me, she's the best part on my favorite tracks "Woman In Chains" and "Badman's Song."  I've always loved Oleta's story. The guys in Tears For Fears discovered her performing at a Kansas City Hyatt Regency during their 1985 tour behind  Songs From The Big Chair . Two years later, they invited her to join the band as they recorded Seeds Of Love . She later went on tour with them, opening each date as the supporting act, then staying on stage for the band's main show. (Thanks, Wikipedia.) Oleta successfully released her debut solo album in 1990. I just found her flawless performance of "Get Here" on Carson in '91. If you don't recognize the title, you will certainly know the song as soon as she starts singing. We may n...

  The news last week about Tower Records re-opening (online) triggered happy memories about visiting their store right by NYU on 4th and Broadway. I rode the subway down to campus each Saturday my first year in New York, feeling more at home there among the students my own age.  Washington Square Park was like an urban beach where guys with concave chests played Hacky Sack, street magicians worked the crowds for tips, and stoners strummed guitars, singing their parents' folk songs. Poorly.  If needed, my first stop would be a haircut at Astor Place Hairstylists , the New York icon that just announced that it's closing on November 25 after 75 years. Another victim of today's pandemic. The sprawling subterranean shop was like a daytime club where barbers of all ages yelled at each other in all languages while swaying to booming dance music or Latin rhythms. Magazine cutouts and Polaroids of celebrity clients like De Niro, Warhol, and Sinbad plastered workstation mirrors. T...

Oh, how I missed MTV when I stayed at the YMCA. My room only had a black-and-white TV, no cable.  I kept up with music thanks to the AM/FM clock radio I had packed to wake up for early job interviews. New York's airwaves in September 1989 were broader and funkier than northwest Ohio's, thumping with Latin, dance, and R&B. I liked it.  After my first couple days in the city, I heard a familiar voice over big, syncopated beats. Janet Jackson had returned with "Miss You Much," produced by music partners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It sounded like home in my hot box of a room over a sketchy stretch of West 34th Street.  Another distinctive voice pumped out of my clock radio too: Madonna, cherishing the joy a particular boy was bringing her. Sweet, like a 60s pop song, it sounded like a calculated pivot from the boldness of "Like A Prayer" and "Express Yourself" earlier in the year.  It wasn't until I moved in with my roommate two months later th...

This week in 1989, Madonna hit #1 with “Express Yourself”…in Cashbox magazine. She was blocked from the top of the Billboard chart by Martika’s “Toy Soldiers.” I don’t know her.   Like most songs then, I first heard it on MTV. I was grinding out my last semester that summer at Bowling Green State University in an A/C-free apartment.   My pending graduation stirred up equal parts excitement and dread because I had decided to skip searching for jobs in Ohio to pursue a career in PR in New York. Where I knew no one. Or had a job. Or anywhere to live.   Madonna’s video was a “ray of light” through my anxiety, mixing Hollywood glamour, the 1927 film Metropolis , and half-naked men, sweaty from work or wet from rain falling as they exercised. Because they had the $5 million budget for it.   I simultaneously ogled and envied the men. They were way too hot to ever notice a scrawny kid like me. Surely, I wasn’t worthy of their touch. But I appreciated seeing them.   Mad...

Paula Abdul’s second single entered its second week at #1 this day in 1989. I was kicking off my last semester at Bowling Green, but I didn’t really connect with the song. I was more “alternative.” Think “120 Minutes.” But it's sure in my head 30+ years later. Paula Abdul is like the Gen X version of Cher.  Earlier this year, she wrapped a residency in Vegas , filling seats with fans of her videos, her choreography, and her iconic role as a talent show judge. Her appeal, like her resume, crosses generations. She’s still not on any of my playlists, but I appreciate her hustle. Check out the video for this song.  She wasn’t so big that she couldn’t pay tribute to some of the biggest videos a few years before her. Even if it was just to fuel her quest to be our girl, forever. Elijah Wood makes his acting debut here too as one of the “Boys of Summer.”