Currently Booming: Boys of Summer- George Michael - 'I Want Your Sex' (1987)

Daily Boom 90's Nostalgia: Karyn White - 'Romantic'

"Take me in your arms, caress me gently
Oh, I can't get enough, ooh
Thrill me, say the word, I will surrender
To your poetic charm, oh

'Cause when the night falls
I hear seductive voices sing
Romantic songs of love
Let's get intimate

Turn the lights down
It's time to get romantic
(Do everything romantic now)
Light a candle
It's time to get romantic"

My introduction to Karyn White's "Romantic" came in the summer of 1991 in a department store. Back then the juniors department always had random tv's placed near the ceiling and MTV would play nonstop. I guess the music itself was supposed to improve your shopping mood and let's face it, that still does seem to somehow work. When is the last time that you were in a clothing store that didn't have some sort of dance music on?

Right?

It must put shoppers in a good mood and boost sales, otherwise it would be Marilyn Manson playing, no?

So anyway, back to Karyn. "Romantic" was an instant New Jack Swing dance floor classic. And the video? Totally slick. I always joke that you can tell a 90's video by the blue and brown tones in the lighting. While the song itself is politely about sex, the video was pretty classy for the early 90's. Chair dance and all. I stopped shopping on that day back in 1991 to watch, just like I stopped what I was doing the other day to watch it again. 

Currently Booming: Friday Night Videos- June 1988 (Watch)

Currently Booming: Guns N' Roses - 'November Rain' (Audio / Piano Version / 1986

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Aerosmith- 'Janie's Got A Gun'

"Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her whole world's come undone
From lookin' straight at the sun
What did her daddy do?
What did he put you through?
They said when Janie was arrested
they found him underneath a train
But man, he had it comin' Now that Janie's got a gun
she ain't never gonna be the same."

In their 40+ year career Aerosmith has certainly cranked out a string of memorable hits, haven't they? Even if you're not an Aerosmith fan by definition there has to be a few songs in their catalogue that you like. One of my very favorites is "Janie's Got A Gun" the second single off of their 1989 album, Pump. It took Steven Tyler 8 months to finish writing the lyrics to this song and it was a Newsweek article on child abuse that finally helped his process. At the time Tyler said he was furious that no one was really speaking out against incestuous abuse and he decided to use "Janie's Got A Gun" as a platform to raise awareness.

The lyrics were switched around for radio airplay but the video drives home the songs gut wrenching message. Check it out below.

Currently Booming: Boys of Summer- Peter Gabriel- 'Sledgehammer' (1986)

Currently Booming: New Music by Swing Out Sister- 'Almost Persuaded' (Listen)

Daily Boom 90's Nostalgia: Janet Jackson - 'That's the Way Love Goes'

"Like a moth to a flame
Burned by the fire
My love is blind
Can't you see my desire
That's the way love goes"

Janet Jackson returned to the airwaves in 1993 with a totally different vibe and it was fantastic. "That's The Way Love Goes" was an introduction to a smoother, sexier Janet and we all loved it. Her self-titled album remains my favorite and the series of videos that were born from it are some of the best of that decades. "That's The Way Love Goes" just sets the tone for the rest of the album. Watching Janet with "the kids" (her dancers) always made me want to be one of them. It was a great girl squad before girl squads were officially a thing.

The song slayed commercially too. It sat at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 for a record eight weeks and won a string of awards including a Grammy. Check out the video below. Let Janet take you on a journey back in time. Ya know, 24 years ago when life seemed a whole lot simpler!

Currently Booming: The Top Songs of 1988 Playlist

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: RUN-DMC - 'It's Tricky'

This speech is my recital, I think it's very vital
To rock (a rhyme), that's right (on time)
It's Tricky is the title, here we go...

I was cruising through Boom's archives yesterday and realized that there hasn't been very much old school rap featured and that is something that I need to correct immediately, starting with RUN-DMC.  While everyone else was semi-obsessed with the boys appearing with Aerosmith in their video for "Walk This Way", I was all about "It's Tricky" the third track off of their Raising Hell album.

 "It's Tricky" was released in late 1986 and got tons of airplay in my area. Plus the video was constantly playing on MTV, in part because of it featuring a cameo with Penn & Teller. Do you guys remember this one? Check out the clip below, 30 years later it's still one of my very favorite RUN-DMC tracks!

Currently Booming: Yo! MTV Raps Mega Reel

Currently Booming: Best Of Headbangers Ball

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: After 7 - 'Heat Of The Moment'

"There comes a time in every man's life

You're gonna do wrong

I made a mistake girl..Just let me..

Just let me explain

I can't believe it

Although I did it

I've never been that kinda man

I must admit it

I wasn't with it

But you were the best I've ever had"

I haven't heard After 7's "Heat Of The Moment" in years and when I finally did, I was sure it was Bobby Brown. I mean, doesn't it sound like "Every Little Step"?? Except that I like it better than that song that Brown did for one of the Ghostbuster sequels. It was released near the end of 1989 when New Jack Swing was really catching on thanks in great part to Babyface and L.A. Reid's writing and production. They put out some of the best tracks of the era, including this one.

After 7, comprised of Melvin and Kevon Edmonds and Keith Mitchell, first got together in 1987 and found success right out of the gate. Their self-titled debut album spun a few R&B number 1's ("Ready Or Not" and "Can't Stop") that also did very well on Billboard's Hot 100. "Heat Of The Moment" remains my favorite though & I think it's a great kick start to your new week, so here ya go! Check out the video below!

Currently Booming: Soul Train with Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Olivia Newton John - 'Physical'

"I'm sayin' all the things that I know you'll like
Making good conversation I gotta handle you just right, you know what I mean
I took you to an intimate restaurant, then to a suggestive movie
There's nothing left to talk about 'less it's horizontally."

Olivia Newton John was the perennial girl next door in the 70's. Her string of soft rock hits gave no advance notice of what was to come from her in the 80's. "Physical" was originally intended for Rod Stewart, who in 1981 was the king of raunch. Somehow, Olivia ended up recording the song and before she could pull it (something she actually tried to do), "Physical" took off. It skyrocketed up the charts and sat at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 for ten weeks. The video really raised eyebrows as the singer worked overtime in the gym trying to whip a bunch of men into shape. She gave up just as their transformation into hot, muscular dudes occurred. Of course there was a catch, they all appeared to be gay, except for one.

The video is pretty iconic but I always appreciated Olivia's live (okay lip synched) performances in workout gear. The only thing that makes this clip better is the Solid Gold dancers! Check it out below!

Currently Booming: Freestyle Friday- The Cover Girls- 'Inside Outside'

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: The Romantics - 'Talking in Your Sleep'

"When you close your eyes and you go to sleep
And it's down to the sound of a heartbeat
I can hear the things that you're dreaming about
When you open up your heart and the truth comes out
You tell me that you want me
You tell me that you need me
You tell me that you love me
And I know that I'm right
'Cause I hear it in the night
I hear the secrets that you keep
When you're talking in your sleep"

My first introduction to The Romantics came when a snippet of their video for "Talking Your Sleep" played back on American Top 40's top ten video countdown back in 1984.  Sure, it wasn't MTV but everyone had tapped into the music video craze and created their own version of it. The video itself was bizarre because it featured a bunch of women seemingly standing in their sleep clad either in lingerie or pajamas.

I loved the song and when my dad gave me a copy of the 45 single I can remember playing it constantly. Some synth ends up sounding really dated to me. This isn't one of those songs. "Talking In Your Sleep" still holds up as a pretty solid song. I may not go out of my way to play it nowadays, but when it comes on the radio or pops up in my work playlist I'm not shutting it off either.

Check out the video below!

Currently Booming: Bon Jovi - Behind The Music

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Divinyls- 'Pleasure And Pain'

"Lover lover why do you push
Why do you push, why do you push
Baby baby, did you forget about me

I've been standing at the back of your life
Back row centre just above the ice"

I was under the (wrong) impression that I didn't like anything at all by Divinyls.  Then I went back and listened to some of their earlier stuff and realized that I actually love some of it. I'm just not a 90's-era I Touch Myself fan. After a bit of a musical journey, I came to understand exactly how much Chrissy Amphlett contributed to the female rock movement.

Once the 90's rolled around Divinyls had totally embraced a pop music sound and image but the 80's were a different story. The band rocked and Amphlett was known for her sexy image. Most of the time she was wearing fishnets and a schoolgirl outfit and her style added to the uniqueness of the band. They eventually split in 1996 after a 16 year career together. 

Amphlett was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and couldn't undergo chemotherapy/radiation because she had Multiple Sclerosis. The singer eventually died in 2013 at the age of 53 but Divinyls music definitely lives on.  "Pleasure And Pain" is my favorite song by them. Check out the video below!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: D-Mob featuring Cathy Dennis 'C'Mon And Get My Love'

 I was on Facebook yesterday and saw a posting that reminded me of a long forgotten song. "C'Mon and Get My Love" was the track that introduced us to Cathy Dennis way back in 1989.

This thing was a club kid's dream and Dennis had a string of hits off of her Move To This album, all in a pretty similar vein. She released a follow up a few years later and then appeared to disappear from the charts. While she's not front and center onstage now Dennis has actually had an extremely successful career writing and producing pop songs. She is responsible for penning such tracks as Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and Britney Spears "Toxic".

Dennis has worked with just about every major pop princess within the last 15 years, but check her out here in her video debut.

Currently Booming: KISS on MTV Unplugged (Watch)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Eddie Money- 'Endless Nights'

"Here I am, just standing in circles

And the logic is turning me round

My mind keeps holding

Only one thought

When you gonna call

I think it's worth the time

How you gonna change

All these endless nights

If you could stop

Leading me around

You're never gonna change

All these endless nights"

My sophomore year of high school was loaded with Eddie Money tunes. His album 'Can't Hold Back' was heralded as a huge comeback for him and that meant a string of hits that flooded my radio. "Endless Nights" was not the biggest single, it cracked Billboard's top 40 but compared to tracks like, "Take Me Home Tonight" it was the hidden gem of the album. I had honestly forgotten about it until a few days ago when it came on my radio at work and rather than think about it, I kind of felt it.

Even though it's a bit of an angst-y tune it still for whatever reason reminded me of car rides through the country with the windows down, sun blaring and the radio cranked. It brings me back to stonewashed jeans, big sweaters and banana clips. Back to a moment in time when every little thing felt like the end of the world, even though those things would eventually amount to nothing compared to real adult life in the years to come. "Endless Nights" feels like four minutes of everything that felt good about 1987. Check it out below.

Currently Booming: Live- Full Unplugged Concert (1995)

Daily Boom 90's Nostalgia 2Pac - 'Brenda's Got A Baby'

"I hear Brenda's got a baby
But, Brenda's barely got a brain
A damn shame
The girl can hardly spell her name
(That's not our problem, that's up ta Brenda's family)
Well let me show ya how it affects the whole community
Now Brenda never really knew her moms
and her dad was a junky
Went in debt to his arms, it's sad
Cause I bet Brenda doesn't even know
Just cause your in the ghetto doesn't mean ya can't grow
But oh, that's a thought, my own revelation
Do whatever it takes ta resist the temptation"

I gotta tell ya, when Tupac Shakur first arrived on the scene back in the early 90's I wasn't really a fan. I mean, it was obvious that 2Pac was a masterful rapper and he clearly had an agenda and a message to deliver, but I just wasn't ready to "hear" him. I knew about the east coast west coast rap rivalry because I think even if you lived under a rock in West Virginia, it had still reached you. Names like 2Pac, Puffy and Biggie just weren't in heavy rotation for me.

I recently went back and started listening to Pac and Biggie's catalogs of music and discovered that I'm a fan, especially of the former. "Brenda's Got A Baby" was 2Pac's debut single and it introduced him to the world as a young man that not only understood the issues of teenagers but he had issues with those problems. He didn't understand why more men weren't taking responsibility for their actions.

In the 90's I was probably too young and oblivious to really get the fire and intelligence that motivated 2Pac, but I see it now. Check out the video for "Brenda's Got A Baby" below!

Currently Booming: NEW Chaka Khan- 'Like Sugar' (Listen)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Thompson Twins- 'Doctor Doctor!'

I saw you there, just standing there

And I thought I was only dreaming, yeah

I kissed you then, then once again

You said, you would come and dance with me

Dance with me, across the sea

And we could feel the motion of a thousand dreams

                                       Doctor, doctor, can't you see, I'm burning, burning?

Oh, doctor, doctor, is this love, I'm feeling?

I often will say that 1984 was musically one of the best years of my life. In a matter of months Madonna, Michael Jackson, Prince, Cyndi Lauper and countless others were blaring from boom boxes while revolutionizing the fashion of an era. The group Thompson Twins can also quite easily be included in the mix of great music. 

Into The Gap was the group's fourth album (led by Tom Bailey and Alannah Curie) and it cranked out a few hits that landed on Billboards charts, including my favorite, "Doctor! Doctor!"  The heavy synth song did incredibly well on both the Hot 100 and Billboard's dance charts. The video itself was made at a time when technical tricks were more important than any kind of story line. Clouds, pastel lighting and ice skaters all are heavily featured in between the Thompson Twins performing their song. Check it out for yourself below. Do you still love this new wave style?

Currently Booming: American Bandstand- Tears For Fears - 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World'

Daily Boom Freestyle Friday: Giggles 'What Goes Around Comes Around'

Currently Booming: VIXEN | 'Edge Of A Broken Heart' | 2018 Acoustic / Studio Version

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Journey- 'Who's Crying Now'

"It's been a mystery

But still they try to see

Why something good can hurt so bad

Caught on a one-way street

The taste of bittersweet

Love will survive somehow, somewhere

One love, feeds the fire

One heart, burns desire

Wonder, who's crying now?

Two hearts, born to run

Who'll be the lonely one?

Wonder, who's crying now?"

I was having a conversation with someone about music the other day and they said that if they never heard another Journey song for the rest of their lives they'd be okay with that. It made me think a little and I realized that people do seem to have a kind of black or white reaction to the band. It's love or hate ( not even touching the debate over Steve Perry on vocals vs. anyone else) and I suspect it's based on the overkill of songs like "Don't Stop Believin'", "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin'" and "Faithfully".

I mean, we do realize they had several albums filled hits, right? Journey's catalog of music is massive and filled with a lot of really great songs. I can remember being about ten years old and listening to "Who's Crying Now" on my little transistor radio and being blown away by the vocals. Check out the live clip below and then tell me how much you hate Journey. I dare ya.

Daily Boom 80's Throwback- Def Leppard "Hysteria"

It's really rare for me to love just about every single song on any album. I really do cherry pick most of the time and so when something is good all the way through, I remember it.  I'm currently working on something that requires quite a bit of research on the mid-80's so I ordered a bunch of old magazines off of eBay to take me back in time. The best way to get into the right mindset seems to be a combination of forgetting what I think I already know and reading what was actually written way back then. Yesterday I was flipping through a copy of Rolling Stone from 1987 and came upon a piece on Def Leppard.

Now, flash forward 30 years and we already know that their Hysteria album is considered to be one of the best rock albums in history. It went 12x platinum and spawned 7 singles over the course of about 18 months. To this day, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" remains a rock party anthem that nearly everyone seems to know the lyrics to. Ironically, the album's producer, Mutt Lange set out to help the guys create the rock equivalent of Michael Jackson's Thriller, meaning that nearly every track on it could be released as a successful single. Mission accomplished.

But back in 1987 when Hysteria was first released, Def Leppard had no clue of what was really to come. Instead, all that the guys knew for sure is that it took them three years to complete the album and that no one deserved the amount of bad luck that they had to persevere through in order to complete the record. It was during this time that drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm after a car accident and had to learn how to play all over again, using his left foot and pedals. That crisis was the clincher and from it the title Hysteria was born. The media was all over the group at the time of Allen's accident and it was the one word that seemed to sum up their lives.

I still love nearly every song on this album and at least half of them have a specific memory attached. While Hysteria is not my favorite track, it is a great one, especially knowing a bit of the backstory.

Currently Booming: New Music by Enuff Z' Nuff - 'Metalheart' (Listen)

Daily Boom Lost Hit: Ray Parker Jr. - 'Ghostbusters'

Daily Boom 90's Nostalgia: George Michael - 'Fastlove'

I won't bore you with the details, baby
I don't even wannna waste your time
Let's just say that maybe
You could help to ease my mind
Baby, I ain't Mr. Right
But if you're looking for fast love
If that's love in your eyes, it's more than enough
Had some bad love
Some fast love, is all that I've got on my mind

There's something really refreshing about a person that just owns their stuff and says exactly what they mean, isn't there? You don't have to agree with or even like the message, but to have the nerve to do it is really something. So back in April of 1996 when George Michael finally put his real cards on the table I was impressed.

Of course I'm talking about "Fastlove" one of the best tracks off of Michael's Older album. Rather than wishing for love or trying to mend a broken heart, he knows exactly what he wants- a no strings attached fling. What's interesting is the way that people really embraced this song in spite of it being about a one night stand. Michael is smooth, risque and kind of at his best on this dance song, probably because of the authenticity.

What are your thoughts on 90's George Michael? Do you prefer this sexier variation or do you rather him from his days fronting Wham?

New Music: Tony Hadley- 'Talking to the Moon' (Listen)

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Franke & the Knockouts- 'Sweetheart'

 Sweetheart

Who love you from the start?
Who treats you like a star?
Oh sweetheart
Who loves you baby?
Who loves you wrong or right?
Cause you're the spark in my life
Yeah day and night

"Sweetheart" by Franke & the Knockouts is one of those songs that I remember loving but I knew absolutely nothing about. It ended up on my Discover playlist that Spotify hand-picks for each user every Monday. This song was a top-ten Billboard hit for the New Jersey group way back in June of 1981. Franke & the Knockouts eventually put out two successful albums and had a few singles before splitting in 1986.

This is where it gets pretty cool, Tico Torres moved on to play drums for none other than Bon Jovi and lead vocalist Franke Previte's writing talents were honored a few years later. He contributed two tracks on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes" and the infamous "I Had The Time Of My Life". The later actually earned Previte an Academy Award for Best Original Song. 

Before those great accomplishments came "Sweetheart", complete with chest hair, glitter and (not so) slick dance moves!

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Dokken - 'Alone Again'

"I'd like to see you in the morning light
I like to feel you baby when it comes to the night
Now I'm here and I'm all alone
Still I know how it feels, I'm alone again

Tried so hard to make you see
But I couldn't find the words
Now the tears they fall like rain
I'm alone again without you
I'm alone again without you, I'm alone again without you."

I'm not even going to pretend that there is anything profound about Dokken's "Alone Again" because there isn't. It is simply a solid power ballad that came before many of the standards of the late 80's. In a way, Don Dokken threw down the gauntlet on how to write and perform one with his 1984 release of "Alone Again".

The melody is good, the lyrics are tight and the song is performed well. What that means is that if this song should come on when you are having a bad relationship day, it might be exactly what you need to hear to feel less alone. Check out the video below,. Pretty awesome song, isn't it?

Daily Boom 80's Throwback- Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb- 'Guilty'

"Shadows falling, baby, we stand alone

Out on the street anybody you meet got a heartache of their own

(It oughta be illegal)

Make it a crime to be lonely or sad

(It oughta be illegal)

You got a reason for livin'

You battle on with the love you're livin' on

You gotta be mine

We take it away

It's gotta be night and day

Just a matter of time

And we got nothing to be guilty of

Our love will climb any mountain near or far, we are

And we never let it end."

How do you write about old school pop culture for years and not write about Barbra Streisand? Exactly. At the very start of the 80's, she was leading the pack of female artists. She already had more than 20 albums under her belt and had enlisted Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees to write and produce an album for her. He delivered on a grand scale because Guilty remains Streisand's best selling album of all time.

The album's first single, "Woman In Love" skyrocketed its' way up Billboard's charts and remains one of the diva's most beloved songs nearly forty years later. The title track, a duet with Gibb also became a fan favorite. Watching Streisand actually perform some of these classics is almost bizarre. She vacillates in and out of connecting with the song and just seems really quirky onstage. Maybe that's why her fans love her so much. I'm not sure but what I do know is that I still do love "Guilty". Check out a live version below and tell me if you see the quirkiness that I mentioned.

Daily Boom 80's Lost Hit: Bardeux - 'When We Kiss'

"There`s a real fine line
Between love and hate
And I`m not the type
To just sit and wait
I`ve made up my mind
I can`t wait for you anymore"

Ya know that one song that you remember so well years (okay decades) later that no one else can recall? Bardeux's "When We Kiss' fits that bill for me. I have never mentioned it to another soul that has any idea what I'm talking about and if I play it for them, they still don't remember it. Bardeux was actually a dance duo from OC, Stacy "Acacia" Smith and Lisa "Jaz" Teaney (at least on this song), who released their first album, Bold As Love in 1988.

While Bardeux is often described as a one-hit-wonder, they actually had a few singles that charted on Billboard's Hot 100 and they did really well on the dance charts during their short time together. I've always loved "When We Kiss' because it's almost more of a spoken word song than anything else and that really made it stand out back in 1988. Check it out below. Do you guys remember Bardeux?

Currently Booming: Def Leppard- 'Hysteria' Soundcheck from 1988 (Watch)

Currently Booming: Guns N' Roses - 'Slither' (Velvet Revolver) Soundcheck Berlin,Germany 6-3-18

Daily Boom 80's Throwback: Diana Ross - 'Swept Away'

"We were on a desert island

And I had a dream

I was swept away
You and I are on an island

Where I thought the storm would never end

I saw your light on the horizon

And I knew that I was blown away again"

When I think of diva's from the early 80's Diana Ross quickly jumps to mind. By the time 1980 had rolled around she had swapped out her Motown sound for pure dance music and it worked. I'll admit I played my little 45 of "I'm Coming Out" like crazy but 1984's "Swept Away" was even better. The video was kind of over the top and the synth in the song made it a dance floor classic. Larry Flick recently played it on Studio 54 radio and I found myself hoping that it was the extended version of "Swept Away"

Thankfully, it was.

 I can't really think of a better way to start the day. Take a look & you'll quickly see and understand why Miss. Ross was and still is just a little bit larger than life!