"The Bunyip (Bunyip Moon)" from the Dot and the Kangaroo movie soundtrack

   Howyadoin' friends! Today, the Dial brings you a quick review, extra special like, for Halloween times! Allow us to present a spooky little tune from the soundtrack to the 1977 animated film “Dot and the Kangaroo”… “The Bunyip (Bunyip Moon)”

 

“Oh the Bunyip’s very bad… and the Bunyip’s very bold… and they tell me that the Bunyip’s now a thousand years old…”

 

“Dot and the Kangaroo” combines traditional animation with stock footage of Australian scenery and animals, and tells the story of a little girl named Dot and a friendly kangaroo whom helps her communicate with the other wild animals and learn about the delicate balance of nature.

 

“Bunyip” plays during a sequence in the film depicting a legendary Australian cryptid. Described as being partly animal and partly bird, the creature has a simplistic, yet brutish, humanoid shape, spotted skin and a large mouth with nasty teeth. The bunyip can change its shape, and spends much of its time chasing Australian natives, drawn here as cave painting styled men.

 

The song opens with melodic and menacing piano work, and features the spine tingling roar of the titular beast throughout. Written by Bob Young and John Palmer, I haven’t determined if Young and Palmer are the singers here, or if it is sung by some unnamed performers, as the credits of the film only identify Young and Palmer as the composers. This may end up being an Australian mystery, much like the bunyip itself.

 

“The bunyip’s always nasty… and the bunyip’s very mean… it’s the most unpleasant monster… that you’ve ever seen…”

 

I’ve been told the movie was aired frequently on HBO in the early 80s, but I didn’t learn of it until about 10 years ago, when a coworker told me of the bunyip song that scared her as a kid. Ever since then, I’ve been fascinated with the creepy tune and animation, and I can be found humming the song throughout the year, not just during Halloween… even though it clearly fits quite nicely into the season of ghosts and goblins.

 

So take the time to send a chill up your spine, and listen to the tale of the bunyip. I recommend a dark room, perhaps while a cold fall wind is whistling outside the window. See if it taps into your childhood fears… and Happy Halloween from Kyle’s Radio Dial!

 

“So you better come home quickly… and you better hide very soon…

For the bunyip’s going to get you… in the bunyip… moon.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I Beg Your Pardon" by Kon Kan

    Hello friends! Today, we dust off a single that was all over the pop and dance airwaves in the late ‘80s, but now is quite the rare occurrence to hear on terrestrial radio. Get ready to step out on the dance floor with Kon Kan and “I Beg Your Pardon”!

 

“There once was a time, and there once was a way…

We had something going and to my dismay…

Attention to me seemed to drift thought I don’t know where…”

 

Recorded by the enigmatic “Kon Kan”, (a quirkily-spelled abbreviation for “Canadian Continent”), and comprising of Barry Harris and Kevin Wynne, Kon Kan specialized in synthpop dance tunes, and enjoyed several hits in their native Canada. However, only their debut single made a splash outside of the Great White North.

 

Peaking at US #15, UK #5, and Canadian #19 in 1988, and pulled from the LP Move to Move, "I Beg Your Pardon" is a tune that could only have come out of the ‘80s. A hi-energy dance track with a fun upbeat vibe yet cold and distant vocals, Kon Kan derived inspiration from the Pet Shop Boys, which is most obvious in Kevin Wynne’s “Neil Tennant-style” emotionless singing.

 

“And when we’re alone seems there’s nothing to day…

I bring up the topic, you push it away…

You say that you do, but I think it’s just you don’t care…

Why do I feel you’re using me?”

 

And, as was the nature of much dance pop at the time… this thing is loaded with samples. The most recognizable was the unlikely use of the bridge section of Lynn Anderson's 1970 country crossover smash "Rose Garden". Barry and Kevin even named the track after the first line in the chorus of Lynn's song, even though the Anderson vocal sample stops short of her actually singing the famous "I Beg Your Pardon" line.

 

Other samples cobbled together here include Silver Convention’s 1976 smash “Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right)”, GQ’s 1979 hit “Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)”, and tracks from post-punkers Tones on Tails, Italian pop singer Spagna, and the opening bars from the theme to The Magnificent Seven.

 

“If that’s how you want it, that’s how it’ll be…

There’s no use in trying or making you see…

That love don’t come easy, you don’t know what it’s about…”

 

Kon Kan’s original lyrics, (those that are not sampled, that is) reflect a man confronting his significant other on a perceived disinterest in their relationship. He basically gives an ultimatum… if he isn’t the right one, then they should never cross paths again. The “Rose Garden” bridge can actually be interpreted as the response from his lover, asking the guy to relax and enjoy each other’s company during the time they share together. For years, I’ve always thought that the original lyrics (sans samples) would work well in a non-dance pop tune, perhaps one with more of a hard rock bite.

 

Kon Kan only recorded three LPs before breaking up in 1994. Their second biggest hit, “Puss N Boots / These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” (US #58) mined a similar synth pop vein, and incorporated elements of Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”, and Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”.

 

So I invite you to give Kon Kan’s lone US top 40 entry a spin, and see if it triggers a distant memory of the late 80s for you! Maybe high school? College? Dance clubs? Drop me a line and let me know! Kyle’s Radio Dial… The MORE you listen… the MORE you remember!

 

“Smile for a while and let’s be jolly… love shouldn’t be so melancholy…

Come along and share the good times while we can…”







"High on You" by Survivor

    Hello friends, it’s time once again to kick off a month with another memory jogging spotlight from the Radio Dial! For the start to October, we turn our attention to a top 10 hit from Chicago, IL based Survivor, and their mid ‘80s classic “High on You”!

 

"There you stood… that’ll teach her... to look so good and feel so right. Let me tell you ‘bout the girl I met last night…”

 

Survivor, an ‘80s classic rock mainstay,  features lead vocalist Jimi Jamison, bassist Stephan Ellis, and drummer Marc Droubay, with lead guitarist Frankie Sullivan and keyboardist Jim Peterik. Frankie and Jim are the songwriting team behind “High on You”, and many of Survivor’s other hits.

 

Reaching #8 on both the Hot 100, and the US Mainstream Rock charts in 1985, “High On You” was taken from Survivor’s 1984 LP Vital Signs, which also contained the power pop hit “I Can’t Hold Back” (#13), the tender ballad “The Search Is Over” (#4), and the minor entry “First Night” (US #53). Vital Signs leaned strongly toward the pop spectrum of rock, smoothing out the rougher sound of their earlier hits like “Poor Man’s Son”, and “Eye of the Tiger”, while staying firmly rooted in a “Journey meets Bryan Adams” arena rock sound.

 

A song about the intense attraction that results when two soulmates meet each other, the lyrics of “High on You” feature cinematic imagery like crashing crowds, secret sins, complete intoxication, and screaming in the night, culminating rather grandly in the refrain…

 

“Talkin’ to myself… runnin’ in the heat… begging for your touch in the middle of the street”

 

I was but a lad of eleven years old when this song was a hit, several years out from my own first love, so even though I understood the words to the song, I didn’t really understand them from a life experience standpoint. In fact, lines like “Now I’m screaming in the night” made me question whether EVERYBODY experiences over-the-top dramatic symptoms like that in EVERY romantic relationship.

 

Of course, I soon came to learn that the song was metaphorical, explaining the “in love” euphoria in terms of a drug high, and most of us, no matter HOW deep in love we are with another person, probably are NOT screaming in the night OR begging for their lovers’ touch in the middle of the street. However, I believe it was Bryan Ferry who taught us that “Love is the Drug”, so maybe there is something more to that metaphor after all.

 

Considering that some of my earliest impressions of romance was gleaned via listening to my Mom’s record collection which largely consisted of charming, but saccharine-sweet love songs by the likes of The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, and other sensitive pop stars, “High on You” was rather instrumental in making me view romantic relationships in a different light at the time.

 

I’d also like to point out that the thinly veiled double meaning of the line

“Let me tell you about the girl I HAD last night”

wasn’t lost on me entirely, either. Yes sir, “High on You” made me think about lots of things back then.

 

“Piercing eyes… like a raven… you seemed to share my secret sin…

We were high before the night started kickin' in..."

 

And so, I still return to this forgotten top 10 hit today, and consider it among my favorite Survivor tracks. Last month, I happened to catch it on the radio, after not hearing it over the airwaves since at least the 90s. I knew right away that this great track deserved the Radio Dial’s spotlight.

 

Check it out, and drop me a line if it brings back some happy ‘80s memories for you!

 

KYLE’S RADIO DIAL – The more you listen… the MORE you remember!

 

“I can’t stop thinkin’ about you girl… I must be living in a fantasy world… I’ve searched the whole world over… to find a heart so true… such complete intoxication… I’m high on you!”