Throwback Tracks--September 29, 2016
Shaun Cordingley
Got into an Eighties British groove this week, so expect some new wave, some rock, and some Dio...because there needs to be a little Dio around here...
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new (*cough*) and different retro music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website (if possible...which is totally hit and miss with oldies), so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
Strangely enough, over on Tuesday Tunes I have, on more than one occasion, talked about throwback indie bands who sound a lot like Depeche Mode, and yet I have never included a Depeche Mode song on Throwback Tracks--that clearly changes today.
Active since 1980, Depeche Mode is perhaps one of the best known British new-wave electronic bands of all time; this is one of those bands that, if you do not recognize their name, you will immediately recognize a pile of their songs. "Just Can't Get Enough" is important, as it was the first single for Depeche Mode released in North America (technically their third single off of their debut album Speak and Spell (1981), however the other two singles did not come over here).
I cannot say that the light, almost bubbly tone of "Just Can't Get Enough" accurately represents a lot of Depeche Mode's later work (to be honest, it kind of doesn't), however it's a really, really good 80s synth-pop track.
In a Big Country - Big Country
Scottish new wave/alt rock group Big Country's best known song "In a Big Country" (forever making it easy to remember their name) is up next this week, and I have to say that this is one of those songs that I always forget about, and then I hear and apparently know all of the words, and enjoy the hell out of. Originally released in 1983, the song actually did best in North America, charting at #3 in both Canada and the United States, where back in the UK it barely cracked into the Top 40.
There's something super fun about "In a Big Country" and I think a lot of it is the crossing of a more traditional feel, with an eighties twist on it--and engineering the electric guitar to sound like bagpipes is both ridiculous and amazing at the same time.
She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
The Cult, before they were known in the US as a hard rock band, were working in the UK as more of a post-punk rock band, which would be right around the time they released my (and I would imagine many peoples') favorite track of theirs: "She Sells Sanctuary". Originally released in 1985 as part of their album Love (and later as a single), this is just one of those great songs that does not seem to age--I mean sure, it is very much a 1980s track, yet there is something about "She Sells Sanctuary" that makes the song seem to fit just about anywhere it is used.
I can still remember playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and having to drive around as soon as the song came on, regardless of whether I was doing something or not at the time, this is just one of those songs that needs to be listened to all the way through.
St. Elmo's Fire - John Parr
If you also happen to listen to The Guys From {PODCAST} (new episodes every Friday), last week Dave and I talked about our Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Movies which gave me an excuse to talk about The Brothers Solomon and it's use of John Parr's "St. Elmo's Fire"...as almost every song. Which means I then had to listen to "St. Elmo's Fire" and at the end of the day, this is one of those songs that is so easy to sing along to that it just gets stuck in your head forever.
So you're welcome for that.
Parr has been making music since 1975, but is probably best known for this track, which did hit number 1, sticking there for two weeks in 1985 (the same year that St. Elmo's Fire was released, obviously, as the song is the main theme for the film), but I actually wasn't aware that Parr has written 12 different movie themes, for things from The Running Man, to Three Men and a Baby.
Holy Diver - Dio
Like I said above...sometimes you just need some Dio. Ronnie James Dio had an amazing career in heavy metal, considering all of the projects he was involved in (not just Black Sabbath). "Holy Diver" is the first single from Dio's (the band Dio's) debut album Holy Diver which released in 1983, a project Ronnie James Dio worked on after his first stint with Black Sabbath, and while this song did not hit it big when it was first released, it has probably become one of the most recognizable, and well known of any of Dio's songs.
When you really listen to "Holy Diver" it's such a pure, storytelling experience that only early metal seemed to deliver...plus, "ride the tiger" just sounds great with that pulsing guitar behind it.
Here is the August Apple Music Playlist, done in the usual fashion of trying to make it sound a bit like a set (which is never easy without transitions, or just yapping until I change genres...looking at you Foo Fighters)...
In case you missed our previous Throwback Track playlists, here they are:
Remember, as I use Apple Music, that is where I am building the playlists, but if you want me to look into other services, just hit me up on Twitter and we will chat about the prospects of places like Spotify.
See you again next Thursday with some new....oldies...*cough*
-S (@Shauncord)