"Find Another Fool" by Quarterflash

Happy New Year Dialophiles! The Dial in its infinite wisdom, has chosen to kick off your new year with a tasty power-pop track from 1981… give it up for Portland Oregon’s Quarterflash, and “Find Another Fool”!

“I should have learned this lesson long ago, that friends and lovers always come and go”

A self-assured rejection of her former lover by a jilted woman, FAF was extracted from Quarterflash’s debut self-titled LP, peaking at a respectable US #16 on the top 40, and a slightly better #12 on the mainstream rock charts. The band, founded by husband and wife team Marv and Rindy Ross, enjoyed six other charting singles on the Hot 100, beginning with the monster US #3 hit “Harden My Heart”, up through their final appearance, the 1985 #83 single “Talk To Me”. FAF, HMH, and ‘83’s “Take Me to Heart” (US #14), are usually considered the triumvirate of Quarterflash singles due to their iconic sound and familiarity among the MTV generation.

“You let me down, and now your hand is out… well here’s some spare change you can count.”

Even after FAF was retired from top 40 stations a few months after its peak, the haunting way in which Rindy concludes the chorus (“to loooove youuuuu”) would sneak into my memory periodically, even though I drew a blank on the artist name and song title for quite some time. And though I never owned the LP, the album cover of four identical male “ghosts” standing in a field at night went hand in hand (or “mind in mind”?) with the recollection of Rindy’s spectral vocals.

“You pulled this once, you pulled it twice, its time you listened to my advice…”

Despite not recalling the song’s details for years, FAF is one of the many early 80s classics that I associate with weekend visits to my Grandparents’ house. In order to listen to the hot hits as I drifted off to sleep, I tuned my Pop-Pop’s desktop radio to WPGC FM, well before they adopted their current hip hop format. I loved that radio, it was cube shaped, with an extendable antenna, and a single oversized dial on the top. One side featured the speaker, and another side had a slider switch to select between AM or FM frequencies, and TV audio signals. I used to enjoy approximating a stereo sound by watching TV with its normal volume on, and tuning this radio to the same TV channel I was watching so I had the same audio from two sources. But I digress.

Whenever I hear FAF now, I get transported back over 30 years to those nights at my grandparents, stargazing out the window while resting on the guest bed with that beloved radio placed near the pillow. Quarterflash’s hit, and other great tracks like Journey’s “Who’s Crying Now”, Champaign’s “How ‘Bout Us”, and Def Leppard’s “Photograph” all take me back there as well, which is one of the many reasons why to this day, early 80s top 40 is still my favorite style and era of pop music. It represents a simpler and calmer time and place.

As “Harden My Heart” is still spun frequently on terrestrial radio, in contrast to any of Marv and Rindy’s other singles, it’s understandable that somebody could arrive at the conclusion that Quarterflash are one-hit wonders! We here at the Dial hope that this post will help to prevent that misunderstanding from ever happening! We also hope that all of you loyal Dialophiles have an outstanding New Year filled with promise, opportunity, laughs and fun, and as many obscure and forgotten tracks from the past as you can handle!

Keep checking in with the Dial in '14, because the more you listen, the MORE YOU REMEMBER!

“Why don’t you… find another… find another… find another fool to love you. Find another… find another… find another fool to love you.”

"Every Little Kiss" by Sara Evans

Glad you could join us, Dialophiles!

During this holiday season, the Dial brings you the gift of a familiar 80’s light rock classic, recast as a mellow country-tinged cover. Grab a steaming cup of hot chocolate, wrap yourself up in your favorite blanket or snuggie, and settle into your favorite chair as you enjoy the melodic sounds of Sara Evans and “Every Little Kiss”.

Way out here working on the docks, everyone sees the long day through…

The final track of Evans’ double platinum Born to Fly LP (released in 2000), Every Little Kiss was not among the album’s four released singles, three of which (“Born To Fly”, “I Keep Looking”, and the Edwin McCain cover “I Could Not Ask For More”) simultaneously reached the top 5 of the US country chart, and the lower reaches of the top 40.

Written and originally recorded by Bruce Hornsby, ELK tells the story of a dock worker on an extended assignment at a “water town”, several states away from their sweetheart, and presumably, their own home. As the extensive responsibilities of the job wear on the singer, the only comfort found is in the memories of their beloved, and the anticipation of when they will be together again.

Oh what would I do, without the nights… and the phone… and the chance just to talk to you.

Hornsby’s original version, recorded with the help of his ensemble “The Range”, was released as the lead single from his smash 1986 debut “The Way It Is”, but the cut initially stalled at US #72. It wasn’t until after the iconic title track became a #1 runaway hit, and ELK was re-released in early ‘87, that the song of a longing lover finally peaked at #14 on the hot 100.

Being an appreciator of cover tunes, I always considered Sara’s ELK a high point of Born to Fly, and a track worth revisiting regularly. Though she sings the lyrics in an upbeat manner, underneath her smiles resides a clear poignancy that will ring true to anybody whom has ever experienced the longing a long-distance relationship creates.

About the only factor that doesn’t quite translate smoothly between Sara and Bruce’s versions is the idea that Sara’s character is a dock worker. Women aren’t usually associated with harbor jobs, but we can look past that. Perhaps she grew up in a dock working family, and it’s all she ever knew. Regardless, she clearly misses her special someone, and the song comes across as loving and sweet.

A thousand miles away… what I wouldn’t give for only one night… a little relief in sight… or someday when times weren’t so tight…

So take a moment to slow down and relax during this often hectic season with Sara’s lovely cover tune, perhaps while admiring a snowy landscape through a frost-covered window. Sure, it’s not a “holiday” tune, but it’s a charming track with a calming vibe, and that can be appreciated in any month.

So, from all of us here at the Radio Dial, Happy Holidays, Seasons’ Greetings and Merry Christmas! And above all, peace on Earth, and goodwill to all men.

When the day goes down on the water town… when the sun sinks low all around… That’s when I know I need you now… yeah, you’re what I miss. Every little kiss.

"Jungle Boy" by John Eddie

Hey Dialophiles! 

In an effort to stave off the winter chill, the Dial beams you a rockin’, but forgotten, ‘80s track about a young man’s descent into delinquent behavior. Tonight, pop your collar, get your sneer on, and prepare to sing along with John Eddie, and “Jungle Boy”!

“Well, my Mama sheds tears, and my Daddy just spits, Hey! They had it up to here and kicked me out because of it.”

John Eddie, an occasional Bruce Springsteen associate, recorded his self-titled debut LP with members of the E-Street Band. “Jungle Boy” was the album’s first single.

The lyrics are fun and energetic, yet campy, boastful, and rather difficult to take seriously. The listener is introduced to the young man’s parents initially, who are so frustrated over the growing animalistic behavior in their son, that they kick him out of their home. No word on where he lays his head after that.

The second verse details an aggressive cop (with an affinity for a certain fast food chain) that constantly takes off in hot pursuit after the teenager when he speeds on by. Apparently, the young man’s ride is souped up to the point that it always allows him to outrun the hapless lawman.

“Well, there’s a mean old cop in the Burger King lot, Hey, been after me for years, but I ain’t been got…”

During the chorus, Eddie repeatedly warns a “Mrs. Jackson” to safeguard her daughter, because, as he blunt asserts, he’s a “definite threat to her purity”. I’m not sure how you ladies may read that, but that over the top confidence strikes me as rather creepy.

The song takes a decidedly dark turn as the third and final verse begins, as he ends up getting the girl (after belittling her mother), then declares that he has a PLAN, and he has the BULLETS, so he concludes he’ll be a “Jungle Man”. Does this mean that Eddie’s Jungle Boy and Ms. Jackson’s daughter turn to a life of crime instead of, or perhaps in addition to, wanton lust? A modern day Bonnie and Clyde, if you will?

Despite my good-natured ribbing of the subject matter, Jungle Boy is quite the guilty pleasure with its powerful drum and guitar punch, not to mention the infectious “whoa-whoa-whoa… yeah-yeah–yeah” lyric which will be swimming around in your head for days upon giving this one a spin.

Jungle Boy was the only charting single from Eddie’s self-titled 1986 LP, and while it achieved a respectable position on the mainstream rock chart of #17, it stalled at #52 on the hot 100.

The simplistic yet over-the-top music video features Eddie as an 80’s incarnation of a ‘50s tough guy sporting jeans, a leather jacket, Converse All-Stars, and big hair, dancing and gyrating in a dark room under various camera angles, with no other props, alternate scenes, musicians, or actors. As a result, we never see Mrs. Jackson and her daughter, Eddie’s parents, or the burger-eating cop. (picture Sheriff Buford T. Justice for a chuckle). It’s a bit of a lost opportunity. I’d like to get a look at Mrs. Jackson’s daughter myself!

I forgot all about this song until about ten years ago, when I rediscovered it on a three CD set from Sony called “Greatest Hits of the 80s”. This compilation quickly became one of my favorites, because even as it was stocked with well-worn smash hits like “Rosanna” (Toto), “867-5309/Jenny” (Tommy Tutone), and “Baby I Love Your Way / Freebird” (Will To Power), it was also generously peppered with forgotten tracks like Hipsway’s “The Honeythief”, The Godfathers “Birth, School, Work, Death”, and Face to Face’s “10-9-8”, all of which may be Radio Dial features in the near future.

I must confess, however, that when I first read the title “Jungle Boy” on the CD case, I mistakenly assumed it was the quirky new wave/disco hybrid by Baltimora, “Tarzan Boy”. Once I gave Eddie’s track a spin, the memory of his rockin’ stomper came back, and I instantly grew to re-appreciate it as a great slice of mid 80s rock camp.

“‘Cuz I’m a Jungle Boy, Turn up the radio… a Jungle Boy…. Hear me growling low… a Jungle Boy, hey Mrs. Jackson, keep your daughter away from me…” 

TWO-FER TUESDAY - Basia

It’s that time again, Dialophiles! That very special time in which the Radio Dial brings you two songs, linked by a common bond, both in one fun-filled, musically enlightening transmission. Tonight, please enjoy these selections from Polish songstress Basia, “Time and Tide”, and “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)”. 

It’s hard for me to stop my heart, love never knows when the time is right… I don’t want to hurt anybody, but can’t help loving you. 

Releasing her solo material under her first name only, Basia Trzetrzelewska (pronounced… Basha T’she t’she levska) joined UK based pop/jazz band Matt Bianco in 1983, and charted several hit singles across Europe with the group, beginning with “Get Out Of Your Lazy Bed” which peaked at UK #15 in 1984.

After the band’s debut LP, “Whose Side Are You On?”, Basia and Danny White (her Matt Bianco bandmate, keyboardist, and songwriter) left the group to focus on Trzetrzelewska’s solo career, culminating in her first debut solo LP, 1987’s “Time and Tide”.

The title track was issued as a single, charting respectably at US #26, and also #19 on the US adult contemporary chart. However, it peaked surprisingly low in the UK, managing only a position of #64.

An upbeat, yet smooth serenade, “Time and Tide” is a celebratory declaration of Basia’s love for her beau, and her undying confidence that the future holds nothing but positive things for the two of them. Listen for the soulful inflection she gives the final note at the end of the third verse. 

Time and tide, nothing and no one can stop us now, for better for worse, this time, I’m sure, it’s gonna last. Gonna last forever! 

Basia’s playful video shows her song invigorating the employees of a dinner club, as they prepare the location for the nighttime’s festivities. Though the club manager initially (and amusingly) mispronounces her name as “Basie”, she and Danny delight employees and customers alike with her jazz-pop masterpiece. As the third verse begins, time leaps forward to the evening, showing a packed house and subdued lighting, as Basia sings to the crowd complete with saxophone accompaniment. Basia also tackles a dual role here, not just as the lead singer for the club’s band, but also as one of her own backing singers! 

We got time, oh baby, there’s no rush, gonna be a better day for us. Hang on, and I will wait for you, our love will always stay as good as new.

 

By 1989, Basia had developed a strong following in the pop and jazz communities, so it would stand to reason that her second LP, “London Warsaw New York” was released with great expectation in the fall of that year. It would prove not to disappoint. Featuring the hits “Cruising for Bruising” (US #29 pop, and #5 US A.C.), and “Baby You’re Mine” (#18 US A.C.), the LP also featured Basia’s first recorded cover tune.

A classic track about the various lengths that a jilted lover will endure in order to prove to their devotion to their former partner, “Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)” was released as the third single, but did not chart in the hot 100, though it did place at #33 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary charts. 

Though you don’t call anymore, I sit and wait… in vain. I guess I’ll rap on your door, tap on your window pane. 

Written by Stevie Wonder alongside Motown songwriters Morris Broadnax and Clarence Paul, the best known (and biggest hit) version was released by The Queen of Soul herself, Miss Aretha Franklin, whose rendition hit #3 on the hot 100 and topped the R&B singles chart in 1974. Basia’s treatment of this classic soul track adds a muted hip-hop beat, piano, strings, and that certain elegance befitting Miss Trzetrzelewska.

A nice touch is provided in the track’s opening seconds, in which we are treated to the sound of an orchestra warming up. At about the 18 second mark the conductor raps his baton, starting the piano, followed by the beat, then Basia’s lovely vocals glide in to begin the song proper. 

Why did you have to decide, you had to set me free? I’m gonna swallow my pride, I’m gonna beg you to please… baby please see me. 

Basia’s music is typically classified as “sophisti-pop”, a smooth and classy UK based blend of soft rock, jazz, soul, and occasional new wave elements, which charted many pop hits in America (and worldwide) beginning in the mid-80s. Artists like Sade, Level 42, Swing out Sister, Johnny Hates Jazz, and one hit wonder acts like Double (1986’s “The Captain of Her Heart”), and When in Rome (‘88s “The Promise”) insured that sophisti-pop’s smooth sounds provided a welcome relaxing antidote to the hair metal, teen dance pop, and early hip hop that was beginning to dominate the top 40 format.

Only a few Basia tracks were pushed to U.S. radio, but whenever they were played, we here at the Radio Dial always perked up our receivers. Give these two tracks a spin, and see if you don’t also become a fan of Basia’s smooth, classy brand of pop. 

Living for you my dear, is like living in a world of constant fear… In my plea, I’ve got to make you see, that our love is dying.

"No Money Down" by Lou Reed

Hey Dialophiles! 

Tonight, the Dial shines its reverent spotlight on a forgotten track from an unquestionable rock legend. This mid ‘80s single deserved to be a much larger hit, especially given that it sported a truly weird and memorable video. So check it out, it don’t you cost nuthin’! Ladies and Gentlemen, we present Mr. Lou Reed and “No Money Down”.

"I know you're disappointed in the way I handled things... you're thinking I misread the times and acted cowardly..."

Best known as a founding member and the lead singer of ‘60s psychedelic rockers The Velvet Underground (the Andy Warhol produced The Velvet Underground & Nico LP, among several other albums), and for his iconic 1972 solo #16 hit “Walk on the Wild Side”, Reed released a series of albums over his career that ranged from straight on classic rock (1974’s Rock & Roll Animal, ‘82’s The Blue Mask), David Bowie inspired glam (1972’s Transformer from which Wild Side is derived) to avant-garde, largely inaccessible experimental music (‘75’s Metal Machine Music).

Extracted from Reed’s 1986 Mistrial LP, “No Money Down” is a rollicking synth-rock jam featuring squealing saxophone accompaniment, and Reed’s deadpan delivery singing cryptic lyrics comparing a stumbling romance to a failing financial transaction. The final verse casts a skeptical eye on the cult of celebrity, stating that those who we identify as “heroes”, aren’t really as special and unique as we want to believe that they actually are.

"They say there's someone for everyone, and for everyone a someone..." 

However, the real star here, (as great as the track itself is), is the bizarre music video, directed by Godley & Creme, creators of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”, Herbie Hancock “Rockit”, and Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”, among many other innovative clips. 

The video introduces a robot version of Reed “singing along” to the vocals, which is mildly interesting, but things really ratchet up at about the 1:35 mark, in which the supposed hands of the “Robot Reed” begin violently tearing its own face apart even as it continues to sing in a “picture in picture” image. Rumor has it, that the destructive hands actually belong to Lou, which certainly seems like something he would do.

I first saw this video on an episode of “Beavis & Butthead” in which the guys were lulled into a false sense of calm by the singing robot, then started freaking out when the hands started tearing it apart. However, by the end, they were encouraging further destruction of the robot, as befits their crude, but hilarious characters.

No Money Down was released as a single, but didn’t place on the Hot 100 at all. Perhaps Lou was considered no longer relevant to the music scene of the mid 80s, and the song wasn’t given the proper push to radio programmers. This is a damn shame, as many other 60s and 70s hitmakers like Eric Carmen, Tina Turner, Cheap Trick, Steve Winwood, and even Donny Osmond had very successful comebacks in the 80s, each after their own periods of dormancy. Had NMD gotten the right push, I think it could’ve at least gone top 30, maybe even top 20. It already had a great music video that would’ve gotten people talking.

"So when push comes to shove, get the Harley revved up... the moon can eclipse even the sun."

Now, in a deviation from the norm here at the Dial, in which we typically post a window into which you can listen to the song or view the video, today we are posting three separate items.

Up first is a still image of the music video, which is followed by a link to view the video on another site, and lastly a familiar embedded window to listen to the song on the Dial, like on all of our previous posts. This is mainly due to the current unavailability of No Money Down’s music video on the typical site we use to embed songs on the blog, but also because the video can be quite freaky and unsettling the first time you see it. So this way, you can see the still image, and decide from that whether you want to click the link to watch the full music video, or just enjoy the song by itself (sans visuals) via the embedded link on the blog.

Sadly, we lost Lou to his battle with liver disease on Sunday, 10/27/13. However, his spirit lives on in the guise of his rich musical output, not to mention the countless bands and musicians he has inspired (count Iggy Pop, the Talking Heads, R.E.M., Nirvana, and the White Stripes among them) and in its own way, this humble Radio Dial nod. Much respect to you Lou, and much peace in the next life.

 
"You’re paying a price when there’s no price to pay, lover’s trust… No Money Down!”

http://www.music.com/video/lou-reed/no-money-down/36166905001  

"Lady Love Me (One More Time)" by George Benson

Good evening Dialophiles! Tonight, the Radio Dial fine tunes a frequency from the man who brought us the first platinum selling jazz LP ever, 1975’s Breezin’! Time to mellow out with George Benson and “Lady Love Me (One More Time)”! 

If you’re askin’ me to say… living life without you girl, is alright… If you really want to know… I’d have to say it’s dangerous, to my mind. 

Taken from George’s 1983 In Your Eyes LP, "Lady Love" peaked at US #30 pop, and #21 R&B, but ended up doing much better across the pond, where it peaked at #11 on the UK Singles chart.

Starting with the #10 pop hit “This Masquerade” from the aforementioned Breezin’ LP, (which was one of the first cover tunes I recall taking notice of as a child, as I was quite familiar with the earlier version by The Carpenters), Benson enjoyed a string of top 40 hits including a live rendition of The Drifters’ classic “On Broadway” (a #7 hit in 1978), and the original compositions “Give Me the Night” (#4, ‘80), and “Turn Your Love Around” (#5, ’81). “Lady Love…” would prove to be Benson’s final US hit to peak within the top 40.

Characterized by a playful and carefree, yet sophisticated “Manhattan” vibe, George’s romantic tale details a man who successfully woos his way back into his estranged lover’s arms and heart. I always looked forward to catching any of Benson’s tracks on the radio, and “Lady Love” was no exception. The track is richly layered with George’s smooth and classy vocal delivery, vulnerable, yet romantic lyrics co-authored by Toto’s David Paich, distinctive “whistle-like” keyboard work, and a mid-song monosyllabic repetition that owes a lot to the tradition of “scat singing” popularized by the likes of legends Ella Fitzgerald and Cab Calloway. 

Yes, I'm askin' you to stay… Remembering it used to be so right… If you're askin' for the truth… I'd have to say I won't believe it’s goodnight. 

Songs like this one contributed greatly to my love of Top 40 radio during my “growing up” years... there was always such a great diversity of music styles on tap. Sure, the format was always dominated by rock and its off-shoots (hard, soft, heartland, folk rock, blues rock), but also swirling around in the mix was soul, dance, new wave, country, novelty ("Stars on 45" and "The Curly Shuffle" spring to mind), and the occasional jazz cross over like Mr. Benson's hit output. There was such a wide cross section of artists and styles, it was almost like attending a music diversity class broadcast over the airwaves.

So keep your frequency locked to the Radio Dial, where we are already hard at work riffling through our extensive archives of vinyl, cassettes, and CDs in order to bring you, the loyal Dialophile, the greatest tracks you’ve forgotten you once loved, or possibly, never even heard the first time out! 

So before you turn and walk away, just let me love you one more time, feel your heartbeat close to mine… Lady, love me all the time, lady love me.

"Bop" by Dan Seals

Yeeehaw Dialophiles! 

Tonight, we invite you to enjoy a mid ‘80s tune that we sometimes get nostalgic for here at the Dial, even as its singer celebrates his OWN nostalgia for an earlier era, the ‘50s! Tune in for Dan Seals and “Bop”!  

Put on your bobbie socks, baby… Roll up your old blue jeans.
There’s a band playin’ down at the armory… Who knows what rock and roll really means. 

Originally known to top 40 fans as “England Dan” from his hit making partnership with John Ford Coley, (1976’s “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”, and ‘79s “Love is the Answer” among other hits...) Seals turned to country music in the early 80s as a soloist, eventually scoring sixteen top 10 singles on the US country chart, eleven of which went all the way to #1.

Extracted from his “Won’t Be Blue Anymore” LP in ’85, “Bop” was his second country chart topper, which also crossed over to #42 on the Hot 100, just barely missing the lowest position on the Top 40. However, since I didn’t listen to country radio back then, I only caught this bouncy ode to ‘50s sock hops a few times on my local top 40 stations before the track was retired from their playlists. It wasn’t until much later that I learned the song was a smash on country radio.

“Bop” was written by Jennifer Kimball, and Paul Davis, himself a country/pop artist known to top 40 fans via the hit ballad “I Go Crazy” (#7 in ’77), and the 1982 #6 hit “’65 Love Affair”, another upbeat nostalgic nod to a bygone era.  

I’ve got an old photograph in my pocket… We were still in our teens… 
Lord knows I feel a lot older now, but you still look the same to me.

The charming music video features an older couple visiting a dance at a local armory, all the while reminiscing about their younger “courting days”.  Their recollections are filmed in black & white appropriately enough, and a fun driving scene features the teenagers in a ’55 Ford T-Bird switching to their elder versions in that iconic cars’ ’85 model during the “present day”. Seals himself appears throughout the video, as the musician at the armory, playing, appropriately enough, “Bop”.

Let’s twist and shout, oh just like in the good ole’ days...
Baby watch out, you know I just can’t stand it when you look at me that way.

In the mid ‘80s, it was very difficult for a country artist to gain a major hot 100 hit. The “Urban Cowboy” crossover trend of the early part of the decade had ended, and MTV fueled acts like Madonna, Duran Duran, Prince, and Bruce Springsteen (“The Boss” to you and me…) dominated top 40 playlists. In fact, there was a nine year country cross over lull on the pop singles charts that stretched from Kenny and Dolly’s “Islands in the Stream” in ’83, all the way to “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.

I always thought that “Bop” could have charted higher at Top 40 had it been released during the early 80s, or if a more pop/rock-n-roll leaning mix had been shopped to Top 40 stations in ‘85. But alas it was not, creating a song that seemed obscure to me, but turned out to be quite well known to many country music fans.

Sadly, Dan passed away in Nashville on March 25, 2009, due to lymphoma related complications. Much peace in the next life good sir, the Radio Dial tips our Stetson in your honor.

I wanna bop with you baby, all night long... I wanna be-bop with you baby, ‘til the break of dawn...
I wanna make it a night like it used to be... When our hearts were young and our souls were free…

"You Need Me" by Mariah Carey

What’s up Dialophiles?

Tonight, the Radio Dial tunes in a frequency containing a track which resides in millions of pop music fans’ music collections, as it is extracted from a debut album that has gone multi-platinum. Yet, I imagine that only the most die hard fans of this particular artist would immediately recognize the song by title. Ladies and Gentlemen, may we present, Miss Mariah Carey, and “You Need Me”! 

Wait a minute before you walk away
Let me finish, I've got a lot to say, yeah 

Now, how could any Mariah tune be considered curious enough to be featured on the Dial, given the amount of hits and tremendous publicity she’s attained throughout her career? Good question.

How about if the track, pulled from her 1990 self-titled release, features hard rock guitar courtesy of Living Colour’s Vernon Reid of 1989’s smash hit “Cult of Personality”? Given that Mariah was mining upbeat dance pop and adult contemporary ballads at the genesis of her career, this left-field variant in her sound makes for an interesting anomaly in her discography.

The lyrics of “You Need Me” display an anger and arrogant confidence, sung by a scorned lover asserting her dominance over her soon-to-be former beau. She warns, essentially, that HE needs HER more than she needs HIM, which, she threatens, he’ll learn soon enough. 

Baby, I'm not gonna tolerate this game that you play, no
You'll regret it if you desert me this way, yeah 

Carey’s vocal performance here is more subdued in comparison to most of the tracks on her debut LP. There’s no sign of Mariah’s celebrated “melismas” here, AKA “vocal runs”, in which she alternates between multiple notes successively while singing one single syllable of text. (Think of the final line of “Vision of Love”: “all-alll-alll-allll you turned out to beeeeee”.)

"You Need Me” also curiously under-utilizes Mariah’s five octave vocal range, reducing it to a single sustained high note buried during the track’s fade out. However, slight vocal distortion effects and a muted echo on the chorus contribute to a seething, smoky, and sultry delivery for Mariah’s angry jilted belle, resulting in an atypical song that sounds unike anything Carey has recorded since. 

No one understands you like I do…
After everything that we've been through...
Baby, you can turn around and leave…
But I know that you'll keep coming right back to me 

I worked at a Square Circle record store when Mariah’s debut LP dropped, and for the first few months, (at least at our location), the album sales were basically dead in the water.  We even offered it up as part of a “new artist - half off sale” in order to try to move our stock. Then, the amazing “Vision of Love” single BLEW UP, and we couldn't keep her cassettes and CDs on the shelves! A star was born!

Helped by that tremendous lead single, not to mention other smash hits like “Love Takes Time”, and “Someday”, Mariah’s debut became the best-selling LP of 1991 according to Billboard Magazine, and went 9X platinum as counted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Yet, even a multi-platinum LP has tracks that receive no radio airplay, which never get played in concert, and end up becoming obscure footnotes in an artist’s career. “You Need Me” certainly fits that bill. It’s a shame it wasn’t released as a single, it would have been interesting to see where it would have charted nationally, though we know it’s a number #1 smash here at the Radio Dial. 

Don't you know you need me
Don't you see, believe me
Baby, now before you act so hastily
Baby, remember you need me

"Sausalito Summernight" by Diesel

HowYOUdoin, Dialophiles? 

As the summer winds down here in the U.S., the ever-lovin' Radio Dial brings you a nearly forgotten early '80s rock hit that speaks to those summer road trip nights of everybody's youth... Crank it up for Diesel, and "Sausalito Summernight"! 

We left for Frisco in your Rambler
The radiator running dry
I've never been much of a gambler
And had a preference to fly 

Far from being a song of freedom on the open road, Diesel’s lyrics detail a National Lampoon-esque road trip fraught with various issues concerning the driver’s Rambler, a car last produced in '69, so this car is at least twelve years old at the time of the song’s release. The singer, a passenger out for an evening trip with his buddies, complains about the car’s bad radiator, rumbling engine, lack of a spare tire, and an unexpected $80 repair on a blown gasket, leading the singer to declare that "We oughta dump her in the bay".

Despite the litany of auto issues, the singer exhibits a playful sense of humor, and even manages to enjoy a tasty snack while stopping to fill up the old clunker.

I’ve never been to Sausalito CA, (heck, I’ve never been farther west than Chicago…) but this song makes me feel like I’m along for the ride. 

Hot summer night in Sausalito
Can't stand the heat another mile
Let's drop a quarter in the meter
And hit the sidewalk for a while 

Released in 1981 from the “Watts in a Tank” LP, Diesel’s ode to a junker peaked at US #25, and hit the top of the singles chart in Canada. The Steve Miller styled rock band was founded in the Netherlands by Rob Vunderink, Mark Boon, Frank Papendrecht, and Pim Koopman, and disbanded in 1985 after no further hits, truly earning them the “one hit wonder” title. 

Cashin' all my checks
Scrapin' out my bank
Spend it on a Rambler
With a whirlpool in the tank 

I have to admit… I don’t believe I ever heard this track back in the day. I first learned of the song about five years ago, when visiting my friend Greg, who has a tricked out game room filled with about 40 classic arcade games, and an 80's playlist cranking out the hits of era. Alongside expected hits from Journey, The Police, and Duran Duran, “Sausalito Summernight” was in hot rotation! Greg heard the song all the time on the hometown Ohio stations he grew up with, but I curiously never heard it back home in DC. Sometimes songs really blow up in one market, but go unnoticed in others, and that may have happened with Diesel’s rock classic. Its #25 middle-of-the-road chart peak would seem to support that theory.

So check out the song, settle in, and enjoy the ride, Dialophiles. I think I'm gonna cut out for a moment, as for some reason, I'm totally hungry for a burger and a root beer right now… hope MY car holds up on the drive! 

All aboard… Sausalito summernight
All aboard… Sausalito summernight

"What A Fool Believes" by Self

Hey Dialophiles! Are you ready to hear something unique? Something wacky? A familiar song delivered in a rather unfamiliar way? Well, awaken your inner child for this latest transmission from the Radio Dial, a cover of a ‘70s pop classic recorded entirely with children’s TOY INSTRUMENTS! Yes, TOYS! It’s time for recess, kids, with the alternative rock band Self, and their rendition of “What A Fool Believes”! 

He came from somewhere back in her long ago…
The sentimental fool don't see, tryin' hard to recreate what had yet to be created. 

Written jointly by Kenny Loggins, and Doobie Brothers front man Michael McDonald, and first released by Loggins on his '78 LP Nightwatch, the Doobies released their own interpretation on their Minute by Minute LP, released later that same year. The Doobies’ version hit the top of the singles charts in April '79, and earned Grammies the following year both for Song, and Record of the Year.

Detaling the heartache of a rather delusional man, whom is attempting to “rekindle” a romance with a woman that he never had a relationship with in the first place, What A Fool Believes offers up rather mature and poetic lyrics masked by the lighthearted upbeat pop/rock arrangment we are all familiar with. 

She had a place in his life…
He never made her think twice.
As he rises to her apology, anybody else would surely know
He's watching her go… 

However, Self's version of this classic hit from the 2000 Gizmodgery LP is replicated not with professional musical instruments costing thousands of dollars each… but instead with toy instruments that maybe cost $25 a piece or less! The instruments used read like an inventory sheet from Toys R Us. The Playschool Busy Guitar, the Little Tykes Xylophone, Suzuki Omnichord, Hasbro Musi-Link, Mattel Star Guitar and Disney Piano, and various toy phones from V-Tech and Little Smart, among other kid friendly noisemakers.

The Gizmodgery LP, and the genius Doobie Brothers cover, won high critical acclaim, though no singles were released to radio, and thus, earned no Billboard Hot 100 position.

Spearheaded by singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Matt Mahaffey, Self released a total of nine LPs from 1995 through 2005, then entered hiatus while Matt and the other bandmates (Chris James, Jason Rawlings, and Mac Burrus) pursued other projects. Mahaffey toured with Beck on his 2005 and 2006 tours, and produced for artists as diverse as Tenacious D, Beyonce, Phantom Planet, Pink, and Liz Phair. He’s also contributed to many television and movie scores and commercial jingles, including the famous banjo sporting Expedia tagline... “Expedia- dot commmmmm.”

Here at the Radio Dial home office, the floors are often a chaotic mess of toys, as the youngest members of the Dial team are a toddler and a seven year old. Among these toys, one will find various musical instruments… maracas, tambourines, guitars, keyboards, jingle players… mercifully, no drums… yet.

But seeing as how Mahaffey got started playing music with his brother Mike at age 4, then followed his dream of being a musician and producer, perhaps the “Radio Dial Kids” will follow a similar path, drawing inspiration from, and eventually revisiting, their favorite childhood melody makers if they decide to pursue music. We’ll have to see what the future holds… but it sure would be cool, wouldn’t it? 

But what a fool believes he sees
No wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
There's nothing at all
But what a fool believes he sees...

"Panic" by The Smiths

Good evening dialophiles! Tonight, the Dial’s radio receivers pick up a frequency from our friends “across the pond”, as we spotlight an awesome track from iconic British alt-rockers The Smiths. Tune in right now for the pop music decrying classic “Panic”!

Panic on the streets of London… Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself… Could life ever be sane again?

A non-album single released in between The Smiths '85' LP "The Queen is Dead", and '87s "Strangeways, Here We Come", Panic peaked at #11 on the UK Singles chart in 1986, and would prove to be one of their highest charting tracks. Unfortunately, The Smiths were never given a major push on American top 40 radio, hence, none of their twenty charting UK singles ever crossed over to U.S. radio markets.

However, despite it’s relative obscurity in the States, Panic was voted single of the year back home in the U.K. by the annual NME (New Musical Express) readers poll, and ranked sixth in the best dance record category, a rather ironic award when one considers the nature of the song.

You see, to hear Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr tell it, BBC Radio One DJ Steve Wright played the uptempo bubblegum pop track "I'm Your Man" by Wham!, immediately after reporting on the horror and despair of the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy. Marr found this juxtapositioning incredibly crass, and openly criticized the role of pop music in people’s lives. Front man and lead vocalist Morrissey wrote the lyrics based around this critique, and “Panic” soon found itself getting airplay among the very light hearted pop tunes it mocked.

But there's Panic on the streets of Carlisle… Dublin, Dundee, Humberside
I wonder to myself…

I have to admit ignorance to the music of The Smiths during the 80s. I listened exclusively to the very American top 40 stations that didn't play them, and I didn't have cable or satellite TV until ‘91, so MTV was only an occasional treat when I visited relatives. I didn't discover Morrissey and crew until the mid ‘90s, when the Waves Music record store I worked at started frequently playing the Smiths "Singles" CD. It was then that I grew to appreciate their unique defeatist slant on Brit pop with tracks like "Girlfriend in a Coma", "Bigmouth Strikes Again", and what many consider to be their signature song, 1985's "How Soon Is Now?"

Given the current state of American top 40 radio, I believe it's high time for Morrissey and Marr's revolutionary anthem to mount a comeback. Their message is even more relevant in today's vapid pop culture and celebrity obsessed world than it was during the mid ‘80s. It would need to be a re-release of the original track, however. I’d hate to hear a hip-hop twinged dance cover by Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke... *shudder* (Although the irony would be delicious…)

Burn down the disco… Hang the blessed DJ…
Because the music that they constantly play…
IT SAYS NOTHING TO ME ABOUT MY LIFE…
Hang the blessed DJ. (Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ...)

"Torture" by The Jacksons

Hey all you Dialophiles out there! Tonight, the Dial tunes in a hard rock flavored slice of mid 80s pop/funk from the legendary Jacksons, the iconic pop/soul group that began in 1969 as the Jackson 5. Tonight, we proudly present "Torture". 

It was on the street so evil, so bad that even hell disowned it.
Every single step was trouble for the fool who stumbled on it. 

The second single from 1984's double platinum Victory LP, Torture served as the final US top 40 chart entry for the brother group, peaking at #17 US on the Hot 100, #12 US Hot R&B, and also #26 on the UK Top 50.

Sung as a duet between Michael and Jermaine and written by Jackie Jackson alongside Motown songwriter Kathy Wakefield (co-author of James Ingram's "One Hundred Ways"), the track is officially stated to be about the emotional pain one suffers during a breakup, yet lyrics like… 

She said as though I should have known her… tell me, what’s your pain or pleasure… 

seem to lean toward a story of sadomasochism. We’ll leave it up to you, the Radio Dial peruser, to decide.

Torture’s music video served as the first choreography job by Paula "Straight Up" Abdul. Due to the complex and arresting visuals of the resulting video, Abdul earned her role as the choreographer for The Jacksons’ Victory tour.

An amusing side note is that scheduling conflicts prevented both Michael and Jermaine from filming the video with their brothers. Jermaine is not represented at all, but what appears to be Michael in several scenes is actually a wax sculpture of the King of Pop!

The video for this track fascinated me when I saw it on NBC's Friday Night Videos. All the bizarre horror imagery, such as deformed faces, hands reaching up from grates in the floor, eyeless Jackson brothers, mutant spiders, and breakdancing skeletons made this an arresting barrage of visuals to be sure.

Most memorable as far as I’m concerned, was Jackie Jackson stepping back against a wall of eyeballs, reaching back into a pupil, pulling out a goopy mess, then finding that an eyeball has taken root in his palm! I always felt like maybe I shouldn’t have been watching it, but I just couldn’t look away! 

And I still can't find the meaning of the face I keep on seeing. 
Was she real or am I dreaming? 

Along with the videos for Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me", Billy Ocean’s “Loverboy”, and Thomas Dolby’s “Hyperactive” (the popping off dummy head scene…), Torture was among the first music videos I searched for on the internet in the early 2000s, to see if they really were as disturbing as my 15+ year old memories of them led me to believe. When viewed in retrospect, they all exhibit high degrees of camp, (bordering on hilarity), but at the time, those visuals, especially that darn eyeball wall, lodged in my subconscious as the stuff of nightmares.

Check it out, but we here at the Dial are not responsible for any weird dreams you may encounter upon viewing this great forgotten 1984 jam.

Baby, because you cut me like a knife without your love in my life.
I'm out, I'm walkin' the night 'cause I just can’t stop this feelin'.
It's torture, it's torture, it's torture.

"Summer Rain" by Belinda Carlisle

Glad you could join us, Dialophiles! 

Tonight, we delve into our vast musical archives, and dust off quite the interesting mid-tempo ballad from the lead vocalist of pioneering girl group The Go-Gos. There's a 100% chance of mid-year precipitation when you tune into the Dial for Belinda Carlisle's musings on "Summer Rain".  

Whispering our goodbyes... Waiting for a train
I was dancing with my baby... In the summer rain 

Belinda sings a story of a military wife longing for her soldier who has gone to war, as she recollects their last time together, dancing and professing their love for each other in the titular downpour.

Throughout the verses, the young soldier assures her that nothing will change, a sweetly reassuring sentiment that leads to a dramatic revelation in the third (and final) verse. 

Every time I see the lightning... Every time I hear the thunder...
Every time I close the window... When this happens in the summer...
Oh the night is so inviting... I can feel that you are so close...
I can feel you when the wind blows... Blows right through my heart. 

Yes, ever since that final day together, whenever rain squalls drift through the summertime night, Belinda's army widow is visited by the spirit of her fallen love. A romantic visitation from the other side, far removed from a haunting, Belinda's encounter carries no dread, just comfort as she knows her soldier loves and watches over her.

Summer Rain's portrayal of a romantic tragedy was a topic rarely heard in the top 40 since the melodramatic teenage death songs of the '50s and early '60s such as "Leader of the Pack", and "Last Kiss". The poetic lyrics, accentuated by a classical-styled string arrangement, and Belinda's wisftul and lovely vocals, make it clear she will derive some comfort from reconnecting with her soldier during those rainy summer nights.

Following her multi-platinum run in the Go-Gos, Belinda kicked her solo career into high gear with 1986's unforgettable #3 smash "Mad About You", and the hits kept coming through "Heaven Is a Place on Earth", "I Get Weak", and "Circle in the Sand".

This brought her to the release of her third solo LP, Runaway Horses, in 1989. Featuring famous contributors like George Harrison, Bryan Adams, and Bekka Bramlett, the LP peaked at #37 on the Billboard 200, and contained the bouncy #11 hit "Leave A Light On". "Summer Rain" was the second and final U.S. single from the LP, (other tracks were extracted in other countries), which became Belinda's final US top 40 appearance at US #30 in early 1990.

I've returned to Summer Rain multiple times over the year, as it's unique subject matter and beautiful melody captivates me.  Give it a spin, and see if Belinda and her spectral soldier doesn't do the same for you. 

Oh my love, it's you that I dream of... Oh my love, since that day…
Somewhere in my heart I'm always... Dancing with you in the summer rain.