A to Z of the 80s - Z is for Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I'm Off To Have A Nap Now

by Jo Michelmore

And here we are at the final instalment of this alphabet and therefore, we can finally leave the stirrup pants, scrunchies, Rubik's cubes, clothes that show everyone where you are sweating (yes, the 80s were a crazy time) and Rainbow Brites away. Committing to an entire alphabet can be an exhausting thing. But before we leave the fabulous fluorescent decade that was, let's celebrate everything it is, I mean was, one more time. 

The 80s were about hair....and being hairy was an extra bonus. And being Bon Jovi was even better.

The 80s were Cyndi Lauper.

The 80s were about dancing.

The 80s were about fighting. And the Jacksons fighting. Or dancing and fighting. Or both.

The 80s were about Axl Rose's pants.

The 80s were about the greatest song ever written. Or was that this one? Well, it wasn't this one. 

But most of all, these 80s were about things I like, which include some of my favourite karaoke songs.

And now, after all that 80s. It's time to take a nap. Until next A to Z friends, featuring much less hair, less lycra and no big hair! Well, I can't promise that last one. Sweet dreams are not made of this...

But more made of this. Phew. 80s. Done! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

A to Z of the 80s - U is for That Time 'Featuring' Just Meant Singing

And The Greatest Feature Of Them All

by Jo Michelmore

There's a thing about the 80s that sadly seems to have been forgotten in more recent times. It's because every second song on the radio at the moment seems to be a song featuring someone else. I mean seriously, does everyone have to sing with everyone else? Gone are the days fans got excited about their two favourite superstars singing together, or even better, someone vs someone else, now almost everyone seems to be featuring everyone else in a desperate bid for sales. It's either A) two incredibly average pop stars singing together

or B) one of our favourite pop stars and someone we've never heard of before. Or even better, option C) two people we've never heard of who suddenly feature each other. How does that work? In the 80s,  things were a little different. Artists kept to themselves for the most part, and when they did sing together, they just sang together. None of this 'featuring' malarkey to promote some up and coming 'career' (read: 15 minutes of spotify fame). You know what they did in the 80s? Stuck 'and' in between two artists names and bam, you had yourself a duet.

Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes featured each other in 82 on 'Up Where We Belong'. Please note Joe's effort to dress up and the audience member with her back to the stage at 1:07. Turn around lady! They're behind you!

Even better, they didn't do things by halves in the 80s. Imagine the fights to 'headline' rather than 'feature' if this song was recorded now. 44(!) artists made up USA For Africa and Michael Jackson refused to even be in the studio at the same time. It'd be like Jay-Z's long forgotten star studded Tidal launch without Jay-Z showing up (which he probably shouldn't have bothered to anyway...but that's another post). Please note poor old Kim Carnes, who at 2:59 got only two words to herself, while Cyndi desperately tried to control herself in the background. I'll always love you Cyndi.

Which brings us to one of my all time favourite duets, which could never ever have been a 'featuring' track, because, oh I'm not even going to explain. David Bowie. Queen. You figure it out. Or go listen to Wiz featuring Poo-th or Poo-th featuring Wiz featuring Trainor featuring Legend featuring Bieber featuring Skrillex featuring Lunchmoney and everyone else we've never heard of that wants to get in on the featuring and leave me to my superstar 80s moment alone. Please note everything from 2:37 onward, featuring two of the greatest musicians, ever. And that's how I like to use the word featuring. End.

A to Z of the 80s - C is for Cyndi

Cyndi

by Jo Michelmore

I'm glad C is so early in the alphabet, because really, it's best if we just get this out of the way fairly quickly. While we currently have the (boring) battle of Swifty v Perry, the 80s had other great rivalries. Coke v Pepsi, Corey v Corey, Stallone v Schwarzenegger, I'm sure there were others, but the best were the great pop battles. Michael Jackson named himself the King of Pop because the title Prince was already taken, by Prince, and there were two women fighting out the title of Queen of Pop. One thinks she won, but we all know the real truth.


Because while it took another twenty-five years for Madonna to complain about being a girl...

Cyndi Lauper knew all along that being a girl is all about the fun...

And while Madonna spent the 80s performing some of the worst choreographed moves of the decade...

Cyndi sung a song to Madonna about not being afraid to be such a bad dancer...

And while Madonna has spent the past 30 years pretending to be all women empowering and bad ass...

Cyndi managed to be women empowering and a little bit bad ass, right from the very beginning...

Put me in a time machine and throw me back to 84 and I would have sad it then, Cyndi is where it's at. Sure, Madonna ended up with the Queen title, but quite simply, Cyndi got the songs that I love to sing at karaoke and that makes her the winner. End.

A to Z of the 80s - A is for All About That Hair

All About That Hair

by Jo Michelmore

Welcome back dear readers, to the second edition of what has now become the famous IMKOS A to Z (famous is relative). This time we're looking at everyones favourite decade whether you were there or not; the decade of decadence, synthesisers, rubix cubes, plastic jewellery, Frankie says, large shoulders, break dancing, MTV, Magnum PI, neon, Fido Dido, hypercolour, Care Bears and Gremlins...there's so much about it to love.


Welcome friends, to the 1980s.


Let's start the next 26 weeks with something that epitomises the 80s, because if there's one thing about the 80s, they were big and so was the hair, so take your bass straight back to where you found it Ms Trainor, A is for All About That Hair.


You wanna talk about hair? The 80s inspired an entire genre of music based on hair. The bygone glamorous era of big hair bands. Ask anyone who was there who was the best and you'll get a whole bunch of names; Def Leppard, Skid Row, Bon Jovi...the list goes on but my personal fave? Poison. There's some serious hairspray in that band.

You think they're irrelevant now? Don't be fooled, we all know Iggy Azalea is only one comb away from that big hair. And while she's pretending she's all fancy, we know she just wants nothin' but a good time.

Poor ol' Whitney (RIP) may have gone through a few phases in that career of hers, but she reached the height of heights (literally?) in the late 80s with some curls and at least a can of hairspray on her head. Maybe a can of mousse too. 

You think she's kind of irrelevant now? Don't be fooled. Every pop star in the world wishes they were a teeny bit more Whitney and Nicki Minaj is only a step away from a can of hairspray with those curls of hers. One more tease, add a touch of the mullet and bam, don't you wanna dance say you wanna dance don't you wanna dance.

Madonna needs to stop queen of pop's early 80s arch-nemesis Cyndi Lauper liked to mix it up a little. Colour it and shave it, then add the can of hairspray.

Cyndi didn't win the queen of pop title, but at least she doesn't get the 'needs to stop' added to the front of her name (thank you editor for my new way to refer to Madonna forevermore) but don't be fooled, Cyndi's influence is simply much more subtle than Madonna's. Skrillex may have taken her hair but it's actually his ex-girlfriend Ellie Goulding who learnt from Cyndi. After all, even with Cyndi's hair, Ellie knew Skrillex was a douche and girls just wanna have fun (etc).

Sweden has always been responsible for funny little trends. You know, like IKEA and Lykke Li and sandwich cakes, those funny little meatballs and that left leaning government...er, wait...in the 80s Sweden was all about short hair, a can of hairspray and Roxette.

It was the late 80s so the length was shortened, but don't be fooled, that didn't take away from the height. Miley of course thinks she can do everything one better so goes that little bit higher, which is fine, I just wish she'd try and follow their philosophies too and try to dress for success, as opposed to whatever her idea is.

I know Spandau Ballet must have had more than one hit, but I don't know what it was. I'm more interested in those clothes and how many cans of hairspray it took to do all five heads of hair.

Like every all boy group, there's an ugly one, a bad one, a boring one, a smart one and a talented one. Except I can't quite figure out which is which, in any group. Like those before them, we can all take solace in the fact that One Direction will be done soon, no matter how much they believe, they are not indestructible. Gold!

The A to Z of Pop - I is for It's My Kind Of Scene

I, but that is not necassarily  my kind of scene.

The A to Z of Pop

by Jo Michelmore

Alright kids, here we have arrived at the letter 'I' and in the A to Z of Pop, whatever do you think 'I' would stand for? Ireland? Nah, I'm not writing a blog post about Ronan Keating. Irresponsible? Nah, there's enough of those pop stars around without me chatting about them. Iran? Actually, I don't know any pop stars from Iran, but I bet if I did they'd be awesome. I declare the 'I' be about exactly that - I, as in the person, ME, and you know what about I, as in me? It's about what is MY kind of scene, after all, this here little blog is called It's My Kind Of Scene, so let's talk about that.


So, because I spend a portion of time each week writing for this here blog and if anyone bothered reading it they'd already know what's my kind of scene, I decided to do something a little different and ask my fellow bloggers who they thought my favourite pop stars were. The answers weren't necessarily what I expected.

One of my fellow bloggers picked someone I sometimes forget I like, because, well, she isn't exactly on my mind every day, but well, she did write a song I have karaoked before and she does sing a song that I know has made one of my other fellow bloggers (not naming names) cry on a train, which always makes me laugh (may or may not be the song featured above). I'm a nice person. Really I am. Yep, they were right, I do like Cyndi Lauper and yes, she is part of my kind of scene.

Which brings me to the next person nominated by a fellow blogger, someone I really wasn't expecting to be said, but then, she's been around forever and I am known to like a bit of vintage every now and then, so I guess that's what they were thinking when they said they thought this person was my fave. I have a saying about fashion that says if you did something the first time it was popular, you shouldn't do it a second. Why this pop star doesn't follow this rule I'll never know. I can't deny how good she is (was?) but Cyndi shoulda been more popular in the 80s. Just sayin, but they were right. I do like Madonna, and yes, she is part of my kind of scene.

That takes me to another surprise nomination who is actually two months older than Madonna, but I think might look a little younger. Maybe that's because he never stopped wearing what was fashionable to him in the first place, he's just been wearing the same heels and awkward shirts for forty years now. He's also released some of the greatest/creepiest/worst/best pop songs ever. How he manages to be all of those things at the same time is amazing and should be admired. Yes, they were right, I do like Prince and yes, he is part of my kind of scene.

Which then brings me to the next person I really wasn't expecting, because I don't necessarily consider her a 'pop' star, but my fellow blogger described her and why I love her so perfectly when they nominated her as my fave ("she would be wild, eccentric, break the rules, quirky yet cool, definitely know how to rock, inspire and challenge the dominant paradigm"; damn I write with some talented wordsmiths) and well as all that, this pop star sings it herself in this song;


...making pop music isn't for everyone, 
actually that's wrong it technically is, 
that's why it's pop music...


Couldn't have said it better myself. Yes, they were right, I do like Amanda Palmer and yes, she is part of my kind of scene.

The funny part is, when I asked my fellow bloggers who my favourite pop star was, I knew they'd all be wrong, but I knew they'd also all be right. The fact is, I don't have a favourite pop star, I love so many it's impossible to name one. Madonna? Sure. Gaga? Sure. Celine Dion? At karaoke, definitely. Backstreet Boys? Who doesn't love them? Katy Perry? Some days. Shakira? Why not? Kylie? Yes. Spice Girls? No one can deny them. I LOVE pop music, all (most) of it and there is no fave. All of my fellow bloggers were right. Although I bet they don't know my current (not so) guilty pleasure song of pop at the moment. That changes on a weekly basis, so just for you dear readers, this week 'I' in the A to Z of Pop stands for Justin Timberlake, because Justin, this week, yes, it's true. Your song? It's My Kind Of Scene.

It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Ugh VS Shamon

 Prince apparently says "ugh" a lot. Michael said "shamon" a lot. No wonder they were rivals.

Ugh Vs Shamon

by Jo Michelmore

Ah, rivals. We've all got one, or at least had one at some stage in our lives. If you haven't, you need to work on that, you haven't lived. Me? I've had numerous, but I kind of like it that way. Who doesn't love a good enemy? I've got one at work, one at the gym, one in my street, one at the supermarket; they're everywhere. Ok, maybe some of these are rivals only in my mind, but that's not the point. The point is; healthy rivalry is good. Some of the best rivals have been in my favourite place in the world. The world of pop music. If we're looking at 80's vintage rivals, the question is; who wins?

Michael Jackson VS Prince

Well, I was going to say Prince wins this one, because, well, you know, he might be shorter but he's still alive. That is until I remembered Prince's detest of the internet and the youtubes and it being hard to find any genuine Prince clips on the youtubes. Therefore, Michael wins from the grave, because even dead, he's not afraid of the technology.

Michael gave us the moonwalk and this...

 

While the 'little purple dude' makes you type "performed by the little purple dude who...etc". to find any cool clips, like this one. Uuurrrrrgh, Prince, keep up.

 

WINNER: Michael Jackson.

Madonna VS Cyndi Lauper

Ok, Madonna's had a lot of rivals, but since this is vintage time, let's look at the first and my favourite. Why? 'Cause Cyndi was so freakin' cute, who would ever have guessed Madonna was going to have that thirteen year run of awesomeness between like, '89 and '03 and turn out to be.....Madonna?

So while Cyndi gave us a weird wardrobe and even weirder vocal...

 

Madonna gave us a weird wardrobe and a whole bunch let me say, awesome, songs like this...

 

WINNER: Madonna

Whitney Houston VS Mariah Carey

Well, look; like MJ v Prince, I was going to say Mariah wins automatically, because, you know, poor Whitney, but then I started listening to MS Houston and got goosebumps when I remembered just how much she nailed those notes, which Mariah hasn't always done.

So while Whitney nailed songs like this, slightly more successfully than I do at karaoke...

 

Mariah blessed our ears with things like this...

 

....ok, that's not Mariah...I just couldn't resist the opportunity to watch Tuts again. Mariah does stuff like this....

 

WINNER: Whitney Houston

Tiffany VS Debbie Gibson

Which brings us, of course, to one of the greatest and mostly forgotten rivalries of the 80's. Debbie Gibson v Tiffany. The funniest part about that? Who knows who either of them are anymore anyway? They were both the definition of crap girly pop for a couple of years there, and crap girly pop should be celebrated as often as possible.

So, while Debbie Gibson awkwardly wore denim and danced like this...

Tiffany, equally awkwardly, did this...

WINNER: Um, who cares? Oh ok, Tiffany. Debbie. Whatever. I'm over rivalry. Can't we all be friends?

It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Here Comes September

Homogenic: The greatest September release of all-time?

Vintage September

by Jo Michelmore

September! You've arrived again. You know what that means? That means I get to annoy everyone I know by ensuring at every opportunity I sing one of my favourite songs of the 70s, which I’m sure will get really old by the end of this month (“ba be ay, say do you remember, ba be ay, dancing in September….” Earth Wind And Fire, why did you release this in November? You fools!) Anyway, the revelation to knowing what month it is led me to the thought that September has often been an awesome month for music. There’s been some great music released in Septembers and the guy that invented the gramophone patented it in September 87. 1887 that is (wow, that’s reeeeeeally vintage). If that guy hadn’t felt the need to hear some hip beats at home (did they have hip beats in 1887?) then we wouldn’t have had the progression of cassette tapes and compact discs and of course, the MP3. Imagine not having music at your fingertips, in your pocket, in your bag, on your phone, whenever you wanted it? Oh, that makes me feel sick, so let’s not think about that. Instead. Let’s think about records released in Septembers closer to our current one, like…

Abbey Road

The Beatles

Released September, 1969 

 

You may love them, you may hate them, but either way don’t tell me you’ve been to London and not done the Abbey Road walk. You’ve not been to London yet? Ok, that’s fine, but when you get there, you need to do it, or you haven’t been to London. It’s one of the most famous and recognised album covers of all time, it’s one of their best sellers, it’s the last album the Beatles recorded together and it contains two of my favourite Beatles tracks. It was released in September. September is good.

Top 100 Songs of the 1980s, #50 - 41

We're in Top 50 territory now, so keep an eye out for some of the biggest stars of the 80s... and the best songs.

#50 - Atomic (1980)

by Blondie

Debbie Harry, It's My Kind of Scene's #1 Woman of Rock, was going to show up sooner or later. Blondie were coming off their first major success with 'Heart of Glass' in the late-70s and followed up with the oh-so-80s 'Atomic' which would again take them to the top of the charts.

#49 - Smooth Criminal (1988)

by Michael Jackson

Yeah the song's amazing... whatever. Do you remember the game Moonwalker? Forget the movie, the game was awesome!

#48 - Personal Jesus (1989)

by Depeche Mode

An amazing guitar riff, memorable lyrics, authentic 80s feel... Depeche Mode done good.

#47 - Edge of Seventeen (1982)

by Stevie Nicks

#46 - Who Wants To Live Forever (1986)

by Queen

#45 - Just Like Heaven (1987)

by The Cure

It's a good song... a very good song. But to me, it's not their best song.

#44 - Time After Time (1984)

by Cyndi Lauper

She proved 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' and then she released some good music.

#43 - Babooshka (1980)

by Kate Bush

I said you hadn't seen the last of her.

#42 - Blister In The Sun (1983)

by Violent Femmes

I am powering through this today. Short and sweet comments. This has nothing to do with 'Blister in the Sun.'

#41 - Dancing With Myself (1981)

by Billy Idol

Yep... a pretty quick read today, but a very good listen!