Old Enough to Forget

For a dollar I'll buy pretty much anything if it strikes my fancy. Olivia Newton-John had a remarkable career, first with her country era, then her silver screen turns. She played Sandy Black Tights in Grease which was a hit, although I hated it on principal at the time. But dagnabbit, those pants. Then there was the movie no one saw, Xanadu but everyone heard songs from the soundtrack on the radio. Then came the sweaty headband and the song radio would ... not ... stop ... playing. "Physical" I mean it was everywhere, and it was everywhere for what seemed like FOREVER. I'm sure this was the evil origin story of The Leg Warmer Invasion. Jane Fonda entered the fray, and then suddenly we were glued to the TV watching The 20 Minute Workout,  where the women were all able to place their palms on the floor and look directly at you while they had their backsides facing the camera. Yeah, the '80s. Raise your glass, they were the best of times ... they were the best of ti...

Here we are, five months in and holding steady. I'm not sure this is worth continuing, but for me these little snack size tidbits are perfect when I don't have a lot to say, but there was something worth jotting down. Whether it was worth your time or not is a separate issue, and I make no guarantees this will be a worthwhile. For all you know, this is a cheese shop, or I could just be deliberately wasting your time, and I don't have any cheese. Five for Fighting No.5 Dave Loggins - Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) (1974) Rick Derringer - Sweet Evil (1977)  Cliff Richard - I'm Nearly Famous (1976) Little River Band - First Under the Wire (1979) Harlequin - Harlequin (1984) Dave Loggins - Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop) (1974) I still find it strange looking at cover pictures from the early '70s, everyone looked so wise and world weary - and old. Looking at the stylized photo of Dave Loggins on the cover you'd think you were looking at an elder statesman...

This was mostly written and in my queue to post when I found out that Tina Turner passed away May 24, 2023. She was 83. Hard to imagine that almost forty years had passed since Private Dancer was released. It's always fun to revisit albums that you thought you disliked. I suppose the backlash was inevitable as "What's Love Got to Do With It" was pretty ubiquitous on MuchMusic and the radio for what seemed to be forever. I managed to keep up my dismissive airs for a long time, and even though I really liked "Better Be Good to Me" featuring the stellar guitar work of The Fixx's Jamie West-Orem and backing vocals of Cy Curnin. I stubbornly held my ground.  It didn't help that everyone was trying to make a then ancient in pop years Tina Turner who was all of forty five or six when this came out a sex symbol. "Look at those legs!"  This was right up there with trying to ogle the church organist. I'm looking through the album jacket and lin...

Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile came out in '79, and I remember the song "Carrie" being played on the radio, and then being somewhat confused when a very similar version by Cano singing with an audible French Canadian accent actually outperformed the original here in Canada. When he released "Devil Woman" in 1976 I was hooked. It was a song I really liked but I never picked up any of his albums. It wasn't until I saw a buddy of mine at the mall holding a copy of Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile in the early '80s and I must have given him a little goofy look (which is honestly just my resting face) and he got all defensive and went on about how good the record was and that I shouldn't be a snob about his choice in records. Well, I liked the aforementioned "Devil Woman" and I did like "Carrie" and I really liked "We Don't Talk Anymore" and had recently gotten into The Tarney/Spencer Band and at the time songs from I'...