LATE 1992 WAS VERY....VERY...CONFUSING

October-December 1992

For a few reasons, the music from 1992 still confounds me. At the time, most of what passed for ‘rock’ music (an obsolete term that was never adequately replaced) was downright terrifying; it often screamed loud enough to blow my wig off (no, I don’t really wear a wig…yet), while it reeked of self-loathing and addiction. Was it really THAT hard to be an upper-middle-class white boy back then? Rap music was pretty scary back then, too, and if it wasn’t full of anger and rage, then it was dissed for lacking ‘street cred’. Pop music was actually much worse than either of these though, as exemplified by the ubiquitous presence of Mr. Michael Bolton (who probably DOES wear a wig now).
So here I am fourteen years later, and I’m still trying to play catch-up with 1992. I’m rethinking my prejudice against Alice In Chains, wondering if Nine Inch Nails has retained their relevance, and retching at the very mention of Mr. B’s name. Today’s show features a few pop songs that I consider to represent the best of that era, and taken together, they are a pretty weird set of tunes. One ‘Great Miss’ makes the show almost unbearable for a few minutes, but I rebound with a few album tracks that exemplify the strange nature of this era. As a closing point, consider this; back then. Tori Amos was dating Trent Reznor…Now, it’s none of my business, but isn’t that sort of like Ingrid Bergman dating Rob Zombie????? In a nutshell, THAT was 1992.

Here’s the song selection for today’s show;
1) I’d Die Without You – P.M. Dawn
2) My Name Is Prince – (Prince, as that multi-sexual symbol dude)
3) Constant Craving – k. d. lang
4) Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses – U2
5) To Love Somebody – The Bee Gees (rudely interrupted by….)
6) To Love Somebody – Michael Bolton (as a “Great Miss’)
7) I Don’t Wanna Grow Up – Tom Waits
8) Would? – Alice in Chains
9) Happiness in Slavery – Nine Inch Nails

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 1982

October - November 1982

Can it really be 24 years have passed since these songs were released? It doesn’t feel that way, but history (and a glance at the calendar) proves otherwise. Today’s show features four singles that debuted on the pop charts in October and November 1982, and 50% of the principal artists represented here have since passed away (Marvin Gaye and Joe Strummer of the Clash). That is one rather depressing way to note the passing of time. Another may be to consider how much music has changed since then, but has it really changed very much? I don’t find it hard to imagine that if any of these tracks were released for the first time tomorrow, they would still sound contemporary and would probably chart. The album tracks featured here are from the same time period, and they also sound quite contemporary, at least to my ears. Is that a good thing? In one sense, it contradicts the generally accepted perspective that ‘80s music was ‘plastic’ and over-produced, but it also makes me wonder if we’ve been moving forward musically, or just running in place.
How about you? Do these songs sound like ‘golden oldies’ or do they sound like familiar, reasonably contemporary hits? For perspective, imagine this; 24 years before this set of songs charted, the year was 1958, and we were listening to The Platters, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. Can you draw parallels, or like me, does it seem incredible that so MUCH could change in the first 24 years, but so little has changed in trhe next 24?

Here’s a list of songs we’ve chosen to represent October and November of 1982;
1) Southern Cross – Crosby, Stills and Nash
2) Sexual Healing – Marvin Gaye
3) Rock the Casbah – The Clash
4) Shock the Monkey – Peter Gabriel
5) The Message – Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
6) Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen
7) Save It for Later – The English Beat
8) I Wish You Could Have Seen Her Dance – T-Bone Burnett

THE LAW SCHOOL OF ROCK

The Law School of Rock


Songwriters sure can be a litigious bunch. Somebody a lot smarter than me once described rock and roll as “three chords and an attitude”, and I’ve never really been able to improve on that pithy definition. If that is true, then it stands to reason that ideas overlap. History has also proven that pre-existing songs often provide inspiration for subsequent songwriters, so why do some writers believe that they own a three-chord progression supporting a four-note melody, simply because they published it first? In my opinion, the notion is ludicrous, so I have decided to dedicate this show to a few of the most famous and/or infamous lawsuits concerning popular music.
If you have an opinion of your own on these issues, please post your response or write me directly at americanhitnetwork.com. I will take on all comers!
Here’s a list of the litigants vs. the defendants;

Litigant / Defendant

Tom Petty – Mary Jane’s Last Dance /Red Hot Chili Peppers – Dani, California
The Chiffons – He’s So Fine /George Harrison – My Sweet Lord
Chuck Berry – You Can’t Catch Me /The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA
Huey Lewis – I Need a New Drug /Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters
The Kinks – All Day and All of the Night /The Doors – Hello I Love You


Now, those who DESERVED it;

Willie Dixon – You Shook Me /Led Zeppelin – You Shook Me
The Police – Every Breath You Take /P. Diddy – I’ll Be Missing You


And the ULTIMATE injustice;

The Rolling Stones – The Last Time The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony

THE SCHIZOPHRENIC '70s

August1974

I always marvel at America’s way of classifying something as an “oldie” once it exceeds its immediate shelf life. This was especially true in the mid-seventies. By 1974, even the Beatles were considered to be an oldies band. Paul McCartney’s band Wings were new, and so therefore were perceived as more ‘relevant’. From today’s perspective, it becomes quite obvious just how ludicrous this type of thinking can be. Back in the mid-seventies, though, popular music was going through some radical changes, and anything that wasn’t fresh and new was relegated to the cutout bin. There was a unity to popular music in the ‘60s, but in 1974, that unity unraveled. Styles broke down into sub-groupings and fans needed to choose sides. A form of schizophrenia descended on popular music, with lopsided characteristics all vying for the listener’s attention.
I personally found myself caught in the web. As I entered 1974, I was wearing platform shoes and listening to ‘glitter’ acts like David Bowie and Elton John. By the end of the year, I was wearing Frye boots and listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. A seismic shift this huge could only have happened in 1974. Even some of the acts were displaying signs of schizophrenia, and so herein, we present to you one month in 1974, when the music was diverse, and everybody was just a little bit crazy.

Today’s show features the following;
1) Tell Me Something Good – Rufus
2) You Haven’t Done Nothin’ – Stevie Wonder
3) Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
4) Beach Baby – First Class (as a ‘Great Miss’)
5) If It’s In You – Syd Barrett
6) Needles In the Camel’s Eye – Brian Eno
7) The Worst Band In the World – 10 C.C.
8) Creepin’ – Stevie Wonder
9) For the Turnstiles – Neil Young
10) Love You – Syd Barrett