In honor of the late, great Jack Nance’s birthday, here are…
4 Shots From 4 Films
Eraserhead (1977, directed by David Lynch)
Twin Peaks 1.1 “The Pilot” (1990, directed by David Lynch)
Whore (1991, directed by Ken Russell)
Meatballs 4 (1992, directed by Bob Logan)
Inspired by a story that the Human League’s Phil Oakley read in a teen-girl’s magazine, Don’t You Want Me is a song not about love but instead a song about two people battling for control. While the song was originally conceived as being a male solo, Oakley made the last-minute decision to turn it into a duet, with Susan Ann Sulley taking on the role of the girl who once worked in a cocktail bar but always knew she was meant for a much better life.
After the song was recorded, Oakley disliked it because he felt that the song’s sound was too “poppy” and he was not happy when Virgin decided to release Don’t You Want Me as the fourth single off of The Human League’s third studio album, Dare! Despite Oakley’s misgivings, Don’t You Want Me went on to become the band’s biggest hit and one of its signature songs.
(As of 2014, Phil Oakley still didn’t think much of the song. In an interview with Classic Pop Magazine, Oakley said, “‘Don’t You Want Me‘ might have shifted gazillions, but either I’ve heard it too many times or the rest of Dare! is just so far ahead that it puts it in the shade. Still, it made the band.”)
Don’t You Want Me was the 1981 Christmas number one in the UK, where it has sold over 1,560,000 copies, making it the 23rd most successful single in the history of the UK Singles Chart. In 2015, in an ITV poll, it was voted the 7th most popular number one single of all time.
“Lyrically it doesn’t mean much but we had some fun writing it.”
— Chris Difford on Hourglass
In the 80s, Squeeze was one of the most popular bands in the UK but they often struggled to find the same success in the U.S. Some of that was because, much like Madness, Squeeze wrote songs that were undeniably British. Their relatively few U.S. hits were also the relatively few Squeeze songs not to feature any obviously British references in the lyrics.
Hourglass, for instance, was largely a nonsense song that had a strong hook and an unforgettable melody. What does “Take it to the bridge, throw it overboard, see if it can swim” refer to? No one knows and it doesn’t matter. Along with being insanely catch, Hourglass also had a memorable music video. The video was popular on MTV and, in the 80s, that usually led to success on the U.S. Charts. Hourglass became on the few Squeeze songs to break into the U.S. Top 40.
The video features the band performing amongst a series of optical illusions. The video was directed by Adrian Edmondson while the Salvador Dali-inspired concept for the video was credited to Squeeze’s keyboardist Jools Holland. Holland would later go on to host Later …. with Jools Holland on BBC Two and has become a British cultural icon.
Enjoy!
Though it may not be a Christmas song, this song from Ringo Starr feels appropriate for the season. Ringo sings for peace and hope in this song and he’s brought along an impressive supporting cast to help him make his case. Among those featured in the song and the video: Paul McCartney & Joe Walsh, Corinne Bailey Rae, Eric Burton, Sheryl Crow, FINNEAS, Dave Grohl, Ben Harper, Lenny Kravitz, Jenny Lewis, Steve Lukather, Chris Stapleton, and Yola.
Enjoy!
“Someone who’s in this relationship that they know they shouldn’t be in. It’s this dysfunctional relationship, and they don’t have the strength to get out. And ‘what have I, what have I, what have I done to deserve this?’ – there’s a real sense that they shouldn’t be there, but they’re basically a slave to this obsessive love. It’s one of the few songs of mine that is about that but doesn’t turn itself around and go, ‘I’m leaving here, screw you, go make someone else miserable.’ Usually I don’t just leave it at ‘what have I done to deserve this,’ but it felt right for the group, so that’s what it was.”
— Allee Willis, co-writer of What Have I Done To Deserve This?
Though this song may be out a toxic relationship, I always think of it as being about the showgirl taking off her glasses before going out to dance on stage. That’s the power of a good music video.
This video was directed by Eric Watson, who spent most of his music video career working with Pet Shop Boys, though he also did videos for Samantha Fox, Rod Stewart, and Debbie Harry.
Enjoy!
Flash Gordon wasn’t the only thing we talked about at #FridayNightFlix. We also talked about Simon & Simon and how it had one of the greatest theme songs of the 80s.
Check it out for yourself:
That #FridayNightFlix conversation about Flash Gordon really reminded me of how much I love that film. It’s hard for me to pick just one scene that I love but today, I’ve decided to go with the football scene.
In this scene, Flash earns the title of savior of the universe. Or, at least he does until Zarkov accidentally knocks him out. Between the Queen soundterack, Melody Anderson chanting, Ornella Muti vamping, Brian Blessed mugging, and Max Von Sydow doing his thing, this is a true scene that I love!
On Friday night, I was at the #FridayNightFlix live tweet hosted by our very own Lisa Marie and the conversation turned to Flash Gordon and one of the best movie soundtracks of the 80s. Even if you’re not a fan of the movie, you have to admit that the theme song rocks.
For today’s music video of the day, here is Queen performing Flash. Welcome back to 1980!
Enjoy!
Oh God, this song brings back memories.
To help cover expenses while I was in college, I would usually get a part-time retail job during the winter break, helping to restock shelves and telling customers where they could find the really cheap Christmas gifts that had put on clearance because only the only people who buy them were the desperate fools who had put off shopping until the last minute.
Christmas music was usually playing nonstop. It drove some people mad. I could always handle it except for the year that they wouldn’t stop playing this song. I know you’re saying what many other people said to me when I complained that year, “Jeff, it’s a cute song!” Imagine having to hear it ten times a day.
From my nightmares, here is today’s song of the day.
I’ll spare you the details of some of the variations that my coworkers and I came up with for Suzi Snowflake. They definitely were not safe for work.
In this scene from Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas, David Bowie stops by the home of his old friend, Sir Percival Crosby, and meets Sir Percy’s long-lost American relative, Bing Crosby! A discussion of modern music and parenting techniques leads to them performing a duet of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy.
This was Bing’s final Christmas special and he died just five weeks after filming completed. This scene is a holiday classic and has been described. by the Washington Post, as “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history.”
When asked about David Bowie, Bing said he was “clean-cut kid and a real fine asset to the show. He sings well, has a great voice and reads lines well.”
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 