The true one-hit wonders of the 80s (Part 2)

It's time for yet another "one-hit wonders of the 80s" post, as I continue to go through the Scrubbles.net reaction to VH-1's list of the top 100.  You can find Part 1 here.

I really enjoy doing these, hearing songs that I haven't heard in a long time (or, sometimes, I have no memory of hearing).  And it makes me feel good when I see somebody on my Statcounter find one of these posts and go through all of them.  Even better when I see the exit links of the Youtube videos (though now that I'm embedding them, I won't see that any more).

Does the fact that I'm still doing these mean I'm a traffic whore?  Is the Pope Jewish?

Wait, I think that's wrong.

Anyway, here's Part 2!  As always links to the other posts will be at the bottom.

1) Climie Fisher: "Love Changes (Everything)" (#23, 1988)

Sadly, the video is no longer able to be embedded (and Youtube removed the one I did have embedded), so you'll have to go there to see it.

Simon Climie has some echoes of a younger Rod Stewart, doesn't he? Not exactly sure what it is, but that's what he reminds me of when I first hear him. He just doesn't have that rasp that makes it sound like Stewart's going to lose his voice at any minute. Climie's really grooving that muscle shirt, isn't he? And given the setting of this video, I guess they're just a bunch of well-dressed, train-hopping, dancing hobos, right?

This is a rather innocuous song, kind of pleasant but nothing to write home about. The lyrics are rather banal, but not offensively bad or anything. Both Climie and Rob Fisher seem to be enjoying themselves in the video, so that's a plus. It's always good to enjoy your work. Especially when you have a scantily-clad woman dancing next to you.

I've always said that type of thing really enhances the work environment.

2) Cock Robin: "When Your Heart is Weak" (#35, 1985)



I have absolutely no memory of this song, which probably isn't surprising if it only hit #35. It's an interesting video, with a nice, Southwest locale. If you blink near the beginning of the video, you may miss the fact that the woman in the video, Anna LaCozio, is actually a member of the band itself, something that becomes obvious really late. This is actually kind of a catchy song, though again the lyrics are kind of strange. "When your heart is weak, I'm going to pick the lock on it." Maybe she'd be better to install Brinks Security system on it, to make sure he doesn't get in?

Oh yeah, I guess it's Broadview now. Whatever.

Anyway, I have to say that, having never really heard of the song before, I actually kind of like it. Some bad dancing and bad emoting from lead singer Peter Kingsbury doesn't bring it down too much.

And I could look at LaCozio all day, which kind of makes up for the rest.

3) Company B: "Fascinated" (#21, 1987)



Ahhhhhhh!!!!! Big 80s hair! I don't care of those are wigs, they're still kind of frightening. I can see why this song was popular in the clubs, though outside of that environment, it does nothing for me. I'm sure I danced to it in college at some point, though that memory is fleeting and may have just been the Doritos I had last night and then went to bed on. Don't do that if you want to avoid bad flashbacks.

I wonder if those were 80s Doritos.

Anyway, Wikipedia says that "Fascinated" is considered a "dance-music classic", and I can't disagree with that. Since "dance-music" has never appealed to me when I'm not actually, you know, *dancing*, I'm obviously not the target audience.

Oh, and sorry for the Spanish subtitles. That was the only original version I could find, as opposed to remixes and dance club mixes. Like it needed any HELP succeeding in a dance club???

4) Marshall Crenshaw: "Someday, Someway" (#36, 1982)



(No actual video for this, but at least you can hear the song)

Wow, this really gets you hopping, doesn't it! You geriatrics out there may not want to listen to this song, as you might break a hip as you try and groove. This applies especially to my now 40-year-old classmates (who I can laugh at for the next 9 months before *I* turn 40). As people start living longer, 40 may not actually be "middle-age" anymore, but boy does it feel like it sometimes!

Oh, you want my opinion of the song? It's never been one of my favourites, but it's always good for some toe-tapping, with some of that southern guitar like the Georgia Satellites have and a great beat. And it's got a universal theme packed into the fun song, too!

Men will never understand women.

5) Rodney Crowell: "Ashes by Now" (#37, 1980)





For the life of me, I cannot find a video (or even audio!) version of this song actually sung by Rodney Crowell. Thus, I give you a very popular Youtube acoustic cover and country singer Lee Ann Womack's version of it. Given the beat of the song and the lyrics, I can certainly see why artists have covered the hell out of this thing. It's definitely worth taking a listen to. Since I can't give you Rodney (they've got him singing bunches and bunches of everything else, but not his only mainstream hit?), take a listen to these two and tell me which one you like better.

Meanwhile, I'll go have a word with Youtube about this. And the World Wide Web. Think I'll get anywhere?

6) Danny Wilson: "Mary's Prayer" (#23, 1987)



(I was going to link to the actual video, but it didn't allow embedding...you can find the video itself here)

I remember this song, and I don't remember really caring about it that much. But watching it now. Wow! It actually is a great pop song. Ok, the video is typical 80s weirdness, though I like the fact that it shows us that there is an accordion and a bass in this song (you instrument players probably already knew that, but I can't tell). But it's not just the video. I really like the song too! It's catchy, got a great beat, some interesting lyrics, and the singer can sing!

I think I just had a religious epiphany!

No, wait...it's just gas. Sorry.

7)Diesel: "Sausalito Summernight" (#25, 1981)



Apologies to all of you women who don't really want to watch cavorting models, but this is the only version of this song I could find with half-way decent sound.

If you *really* don't want to see that, you can watch this one, but the sound is nowhere near as good:



Anyway, I have heard this song, though not much. It really doesn't leave a huge impression on me, though it is kind of fun. Though you can tell it's from 1981. $80 for repairs? From a blown gasket? Nowadays you might as well replace the whole car. I have nothing to complain about in this song, though.

Which really makes me sad. Because I *like* complaining.

8) Charlie Dore: "Pilot of the Airwaves" (#13, 1980)



Ok, why is Elton John slumming as Charlie's keyboard person? She is cute, isn't she? And an interesting voice, too. Those thin microphones are quite weird-looking, actually.

However, the song is quite good. One commenter on the above Youtube video mentioned how he first heard this song on Armed Forces Network Taiwan, back when DVDs didn't exist, VCRs really didn't either, and this song really shouts out to those for whom radio DJs were the only voices of civilization somebody might hear. In this day and age where you really can't get away from civilization at all (and if you do, then you certainly wouldn't have a radio with you anyway), it doesn't mean much. But it's still quite pleasant.

9) Double: "The Captain of Her Heart" (#16, 1986)



My favourite of this whole bunch, I think. Man, does this song bring back memories. I had Double's cassette tape, and I went up for a week-long yearbook workshop in Iowa City (Evette, you may remember that trip, as I think you were there). It was me and a bunch of women from the yearbook staff, which of course, was quite pleasant but also quite frustrating, as I was horribly self-conscious. My dating life in high school and college was non-existent for this very reason.

Anyway, first night in Iowa City, I'm in my room, lying in bed reading and listening to the tape. It's raining outside, really hard. I stopped reading and just listened, and it really started affecting me. I got sort of melancholy, but it was a pleasant melancholy. Also a melancholy of lost opportunities. So this song always has a special place in my heart, and I won't say anything bad about it.

Ok, the video's kind of cheesy, but that's it.

Ironically, this video (and many other Double songs) is actually posted to lead singer Kurt Maloo's Youtube channel. He's posting these himself! How cool is that?

So there's Part 2 of the "True" one-hit wonders of the 80s. I continue to think that the reason VH-1 ignored these songs is that they couldn't make fun of them. Or maybe they couldn't get the artists to talk? I don't know, but so far, there have been songs that aren't my cup of tea, but only one that I would truly consider bad.

I'm waiting for them to truly get bad. And so far, they aren't. Lots of 80s kitsch in here, but what's wrong with that? (Don't ask the wife that question).

I'll be back with more, after this commercial break.

Ok, a few days' worth of commercial breaks.

"True" One-Hit Wonders of the 80s posts
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

Top 100 One-Hit Wonders of the 80s posts
#100-91
#90-81
#80-71
#70-61
#60-51
#50-41
#40-31
#30-21
#20-11
#10-1