bedsitter23

Wang Chung are hardly obscure, but they deserve to be here.

Everyone knows "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and they generally get thrown in as a one-hit wonder.

I am sorta ambivalent about that song. I just felt it is/was overplayed.

I realize I am outing myself here, but this series is all about fessing up to liking the music of my youth.

"Have Fun" went to #2 in 1986, and is about the only song you hear nowadays, but I distinctly remember four hit singles from this band.

"Dance Hall Days" (#16 in 1984) predated "Have Fun" and I always preferred it to the smash hit. It still gets a fair amount of play on nostalgia channels.

The band actually had eight songs that went Top 40, but I only vaguely remember "To Live and Die in LA" (#21 in 1985) and I don't remember "Hypnotize Me" at all (despite a #13 showing in 1987)

As far as the other songs, I liked "Let's Go" as much as the two smash singles, but it wasn't as a big of a success, and I would say I probably haven't heard that song in 20 years.

It's not U2 or Dylan, but for lightweight new wave pop bands, but it is/was enjoyable enough (and history has not been kind to Wang Chung's legacy pegging them as a bit of a novelty because of their self-referential biggest hit, while contemporaries like Berlin, the Eurythmics and Missing Persons get lauded).

Wang Chung had one last go at the chart, trying to appeal to the alt-rock crowd with "Praying to a New God". I really liked this song at the time, but it stiffed on the charts (#31- the full-length album doing no better than #123). I liked it so much I did buy the album The Warmer Side of Cool when I found it quickly after its release in 1989. The album wasn't that good, though.

I ate at a couple of really good restaurants lately - Biaggi's- a mid-to-upscale Italian restaurant chain in which I think I was seated next to Bob Vander Plats (Guy who really hates gay marriage) but I could never get him to do anything that made me sure it was him, including working something into the conversation where I could say the words "Mike Huckabee" at a very loud decibel level.  I also made it to Fire Creek Grill which is well out of my price range (I went for lunch)- the place that has a fireplace and set to the XM station that plays smooth jazz but not the Kenny G station, the next one over.

Anyway, they are good places to eat, but they don't give me much to write about, so here goes:

Happy Joe's- Happy Joe's is a unique pizza place in this area.  Unique, in that they don't quite fit the Dominos/Pizza hut/Papa Johns 'cheap pizza fast' demographic, opting for a pie that is unique.  For example, Happy Joe's is where you go for BBQ Chicken Pizza, Gluten Free Pizzas,and BLT Pizza (yes,that means mayo, lettuce and tomato).  All are very good. 

At the top of the list (and I like it, though mileage varies) is their special - Canadian Bacon and Sauerkraut.  

This place is aimed for kids, but it has to fit somewhere on the lower reaches of the Iowa bucket list.

Twin Peaks- Okay, sex sells, and it was only a matter of time before someone decided to move in on Hooters territory.

It's Twin Peaks because it's an outdoors mountain theme- they promise scenic views (Hooters has nothing on that for subtlety, do they?)

Oh, and if sex equals webpage visits, here is what the servers wear:




"I saw some nice racks"

Hey-Oh!

I am interested in Twin Peaks for a reason that you would not guess (or likely believe) - it's going into a location that is a pure graveyard for restaurants.

It's a location where city zoning laws prohibit the idea of having a big sing out front.  The place has been more empty than occupied, as a Steak House, a Mexican restaurant, and most recently, a BBQ place have went under in short time.

It's hard to say though.  I think if anything succeeds, this will.  Sex has a pretty good record.

I would say more about Twin Peaks, but it opened this week, and the local paper wrote an article that covers it better than I would.  They wrote a brief synopsis of the history of the "Breastaurant" genre (Hooters had five unsuccessful City Council votes before Des Moines eventually gave in), described the outfits as "sultry Lamar Alexander"(tremendous!) and quizzed the waitresses on their David Lynch knowledge.  Well played. 

A couple of recent first issues.  Both comics had issue #2 released today.

Reset (Dark Horse) by Peter Bagge-  Some of you may remember me as a big Hate fan in the 90s.  I liked Bagge's autobiographical style comics quite a bit.  Although Hate ran out of steam (any comic with longevity can) and I found people who thought did the same thing only better (Bob Fingerman, Evan Dorkin), I always cheered for Bagge.

I haven't heard much from Bagge, although that may be because the comics industry seems to be more focused on the Big Two and their superhero rosters now more than it was 20 years ago.  I did pick up (and enjoy) 2008's Apocalypse Nerd.

Reset really seems to be in Bagge's wheelhouse.  Reset is the story of a disgraced public figure (sorta Charlie Sheen-ish) and the scientists wanting to try out a virtual reality machine that lets him replay all of his memories.  I am going to leave it there, as it is funnier than it sounds, and Bagge is exposing things slowly.

I liked issue 1 alot and it really fells like a comic that if someone wanted to experience Bagge for the first time, I would have no problem recommending.  I hope it keeps the pace, but I am really glad to see Bagge back.

The Shadow (Dynamite) by Garth Ennis-  A lot has been made about Ennis taking on this character.  I must admit that even if I had a temporarily lull in enthusiasm for Ennis, after The Boys, I am completely back in his corner.  (I also should reference a previous blog comment, and say I am not familiar with Howard Chaykin's Shadow run, and comic geek embarrassment, haven't really read Chaykin's stuff much at all).

It's hard to give Issue 1 a full review.  It's purely an introductory issue.  I am sticking with this based on some recent strong work from Ennis and the fact he really seems dialed into this character.  I like Aaron Campbell's art for this type of story.  I like that this story looks to blend in a Ennis's love for a good World War 2 story and a type of character that Ennis should do well with.  I also think the character development and dialogue so far.

Hard to point out anything specific to make you run out and get this, but the potential is there, and if you don't pick it up now, I think you are going to wish you did.

It's hard to believe it's been 11 years since Joey Ramone died. For that reason, Ya Know seems like a much needed disc.

I was about as big of a Ramones fan as it comes, but it's not just that. It just feels like we need Joey Ramone right now. In the current state of music, he is missed.

I don't know why that is either, because I really didn't jump on 2002's Don't Worry About Me. I am not sure why. i had a couple of songs on compilation discs, but i never felt like I needed to spend any time with that album.

Ya Know has got my attnetion though. It's not out until next week, but Rolliing Stone has it streaming.

Of course it's an Odds and Sods affair of thirty years of unreleased tracks, though it doesn't really feel that way. There is a cohesion to it.

It's good to have a new Joey Ramone album in 2012. I don't want to oversell it.. Like that other late70s punk icon Stiv Bators's solo records, ultimately this album is really just for the genre's diehards. It's still not better than some of the last Ramones records.

It's a shame that we can't expect a follow-up in three years.

In light of the recent 3 Stooges remake/tribute, I figured I probably ought to give 2 seconds of my time to the highest charting 3 Stooges-related song of all time (As a side note, I remember Moe Bandy and.Joe Stampley's "Hey Joe, Hey Moe" being a big hit near the same time (#10 on the country charts in 1981), but that song isn't about Moe Howard and Joe Besser despite the title).

A song about the 3 Stooges is probably not too weird in a time where the likes of Pac Man and Mozart got serenaded. I guess we were all shocked no one had thought of it before.  It's not really like any song on the radio now, and it wasn't then, either.

This certainly isn't a song that changed my life, but if I am talking obscure 80s hits, it seems like it deserves a mention. Wikipedia says this went to #15 in 1984 which sounds high to me, but it was played quite a bit for at least a couple of weeks. Also, I remember them saying a member of the band was a distant relative to Curly. Not sure if that was true or a good gimmick.

Although the readership of this blog has skewed heavily male, I would like to wish all the Mothers a Happy Mothers' Day.

My suggestion to the men is to not take the suggestions given by Yahoo to buy stuff from WWE.com.

Yahoo Sports generally is a well-respected sports news-source (truly it is, though I doubt that means ll that much in the company's future) and as always your situation and circumstances may vary.

Meanwhile, I would still probably think twice before ordering this:

Growing up in the 80s, it seemed like every 70s band broke up or managed to go on hiatus long enough for the band to all do solo projects.

Maybe it's like that in every decade.  Maybe everybody saw the Kiss solo albums and decided it was pretty cool.

Still, there it was - Daltrey and Townshend, DeYoung and Shaw, Buckingham, Nicks, and McVie, Page and Plant, the Joe Perry Project, Paul Rodgers, Lou Gramm, David Lee Roth, Steve Perry, Peter Cetera, Phil Collins, and pretty much all of the Eagles.  Some of the biggest hitmakers were former lead singers of 70s bands I had never heard of (John Waite, Eric Carmen) and even the biggest band in the world wasn't immune (Mick and Keef both embarked on solo careers).

One of the biggest bands I remember was the J Geils Band.  My vision may be skewed because my cousin had all their cassettes, but I am fairly certain this was the case. (Showtime Side 1 as I recall ended with the scream "Love".  You flipped the tape over and Side 2 started "Stinks")

Of course, now they are almost considered a two-hit wonder ("Centerfold" and "Freeze-Frame") and everyone thinks "Love Stinks" is an Adam Sandler original composition.  Maybe those two hits dominate everything else because they were such huge hits, but Wikipedia lists 27 top-100 hits (and most were bigger on the AOR charts).  From 1979-1982, there were 11 hit singles.

As you may or may not know depending on age and tastes, the lead singer wasn't J Geils (as one would assume), but Peter Wolf.

As everyone else with any success did at the time, Wolf went off to embark on a solo career.

I liked Wolf a lot at the time and he ended up with two Top 20 hits  - "Lights Out" went to #12 and "Come As You Are" at #15).  Wolf's solo career has to be considered a success- six top 100 hits in six years- but I am sure it was a bit of a disappointment after J Geils.

Wolf has remained active and 2010s Midnight Souvenirs was an AOR hit, returning Wolf back to Billboard going to #45 on the Album's Chart.

I couldn't compile a list without mentioning 1987's Paul Lekakis hit "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back to my Room)".

I was 13 in a very Conservative part of the country (we still have blue laws) and a very Conservative family.

This is the first song I ever remember hearing that was bout y'know.. doing it.

Now, this was after such subtle tunes like "Dancing in the Sheets" and "Relax", but "Boom Boom" really spelled it out. No room for confusion.

The song reached only #43 and Lekakis's career was downhill from there.

At the time, I appreciated that full of sexual bravado shirtless musclebound Lekakis was a man's man, but of course, it was much later that I discovered that he was really a man's man. I also wasn't familiar with the concept of a 'one hit wonder', but I think even then, I knew we wouldn't hear from him again.

Grand Duchy is Pixies mainman Frank Black Francis and his wife Violet Clark.

2009's debut Petit Fours was an odd mishmash of sounds. It was an album that I was never sure about. Moments were great, but overall, it wasn't an album that I went home raving about.

2012's Let the People Speak is a more consistent album. Still, the reviewers have been tough. Pitchfork said that if this with music with someone he (Black Francis) loved, then he should stick to making music with people he hates (Pixies).

Again, i am not sure where I come down with this album. It's pretty enjoyable. Is it essential? Nope.

It's been called The Pixies meet Depeche Mode, which it isn't. It is new wavy and besides those touches reminds me more of electroclash stuff like Chicks on Speed or Ladytron.

At least, Violet's stuff is. Black's may remind you of some of his solo stuff, most likely Bluefinger. I am a huge Black fan (even the underappreciated stuff), but this is (largely) not his best hour. That said, I don't want to scare anyone off. Some may really enjoy it, and I am at least inspired there's going to be good stuff on the way from this project.

The video for the opening single has a Warhol vibe.

One of the first bands I remember being "huge" was Styx. Everyone I knew had Kilroy Was Here.

Now, I was at the age at which all of this was new. Everyone has seen that episode of Behind the Music and knows how this story ends.

I had no idea of any of Styx's previous records, none of us were old enough to go to concerts, and for a 9-year old living in the heyday of new wave, let's face it, operatic songs about robots are awesome!

I probably haven't heard "Heavy Metal Poisioning" in close to 30 years and I probably don't want to.

(Edit: I was right, but some of you really like cheese, so who am I to deny you.)

As we know, Styx broke up, and though I couldn't conceive how such a big band would break up- I soon learned that there was a decision that had to be made- are you a rocker or a ballader?

Of course, like Tommy Shaw, I just wanted to rock, maaaaaan.

Granted over the years, I have seen countless interviews, and I think I have come to the conclusion that Dennis DeYoung (who just wanted to grow up to be Andrew Lloyd Webber) would probably be more fun to hang out with.

DeYoung won the war (at least short term- Damn Yankees with Shaw had the biggest post-Styx success of all). "Desert Moon" went to #10 and I just remember it being a massive hit. It's a big 80s ballad of the like Peter Cetera and Chicago made millions of dollars from.

I threw my lot with the Shaw camp which wasn't nearly as successful. the best Tommy could do was "Girls with Guns" which went to #33 (The album did no better than 50, and Shaw's solo career gave him three more singles in three years, none of which did better than #60. Not that DeYoung did particularly better. The Moon album went to #24, and the follow up stiffed at 108, though it did contain the theme song from "Karate Kid".)

Styx has reformed several times (usually with DeYoung or Shaw, but rarely both at the same time). DeYoung seems pretty happy with his operatic ballads, and Shaw released his bluegrass (!) debut in 2011.

Anyway, I really liked this song at the time. Sorry that it's terrible.