Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The '80s, Vol. 12

yaz!

A weak volume, I think, in that there is nothing I'm super passionate about here. "Sixty Eight Guns" is nice, I guess.

jfc

Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Gold - Spandau Ballet
Come Back and Stay - Paul Young
Oblivious - Aztec Camera
They Don't Know - Tracey Ullman
Our Lips Are Sealed - Fun Boy Three
Only You - Yaz
Images of Heaven - Peter Godwin

how the hell do I choose???

crypto, this is the best volume I've seen to date

Aztec Camera!

OK, I'll give it another spin this week.

(this volume, that is)

Wait Paul Young tho..

I may pick "Images of Heaven" as one of the great early '80s Bowie homages

I don't hear much Bowie in that one, just generic '80s.

This volume's not so hot. I'd say Yaz or Aztec Camera or Paul Young, maybe.

Godwin's aloofness - the aloofness of a man quashing his instincts to show his emotions – and the mirror moves are totally Bowie; that's why Bowie covered Metro in 1983.

I mean, "Karma Chameleon" would top any poll. It won't here b/c it's too familiar.

I prefer "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me." In lesser hands, "Karma" would have been the band's only (novelty) hit, I love that the group kept cranking hits out for a while, most of them worthwhile.

Re: Godwin, obviously dozens of that era owed a huge stylistic debt to Bowie, but that song in particular just doesn't sound much like Bowie to me, more like generic synth-pop with a sorta wan new romantic singer.

That and babys in the mountains are so great but the only things of his i know i think

AC/PG/FB3/Yaz(oo)/ReFlex in that order

This is Cabaret Voltaire by a country mile. They were taking industrial to new places on "Microphonies".

so this is hilarious, never seen it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs6l5xP8BK0

Yazoo, to refer to them by their actual name.

Don't sleep on the Tracey Ullmann even though iirc the recording keeps a lot of Kirsty McColl's vocals.

If it had been "They Don't Know" by Kirsty MacColl it would have been a no-brainer.
What am I saying, it still is. Faithful cover version, after all.
Baby!

"They Don't Know" by Kirsty MacColl it would have been a no-brainer.

Interesting side-note: I'm a child of this era, born in 1975, and yet while I remember hits from many of these acts from when I was a radio-listening kid, the only one on this list I was familiar with at the time was "Karma Chameleon." I didn't have MTV, though.

Although "In A Big Country" is clearly the better song, "Fields of Fire" has an absolutely fierce guitar riff and gets even more at the sound they were going for.

"Gold" is a great theme song for a Bond movie that never existed.

"Sexy & 17" is wheel-spinning ear candy.

"It Must Be Love" was way too twee for me even at the time.

i'm a massive fan of the cabs but this is 'oblivious' all the way

Karma Chameleon is an amazingly lush song; I love the military snare section and the Dramatic! Pause!. Among BG's best vocal performances.

Paul Young's voice is great but this is not my fave of his.

Most of this material is dear to me. I waffled about Chameleon, but voted for Tracey just because I have a soft spot for her, especially on that track. I don't know that it's new wave, but it's a good song with a sunny vibe. Plus this series can be a bit sausagey at times.

Is it just me, or does this series start to drop off in consistency as we get into the double digits? I'm not nearly as excited about the options here as on some of the earlier installments?

"Our Lips Are Sealed" would take my vote in a heartbeat if it was the go-go's version.

Leaning towards "Oblivious," love the acoustic solo, but I could also be talked into "It Must Be Love," cause nothing more, nothing less, love is the best

I don't know, Vol. 13 is insanely good.

Vol. 14 and 15 may be two of the strongest as well!

Is it just me, or does this series start to drop off in consistency as we get into the double digits? I'm not nearly as excited about the options here as on some of the earlier installments?

This echoes my experience exactly. Much of the excitement that I got out of collecting this series back when I was in high school was the combo of finally owning things like "I Want Candy" and "Ca Plan Pour Moi" and discovering oddities like Tim Curry's "I Do The Rock" and stuff like that. As the New Wave era wore on, there was a stronger relationship between the genre and the charts, making the later volumes a combo of massive hits and various also rans from the period.

I disagree. For starters, this series is not chronological. Second, I think it maintains a good balance of obscurities and the familiar. The first one features "Ca Plan Pour Moi," but also Blondie. The last one features "Walking On Sunshine," but also Lords of the New Church's Madonna piss take.

Blondie >>>> Katrina and the Waves
Ca Plan Pour Moi >>>>> Lords of the New Church

ok. I was just saying it maintains a mix of chart relative hits and obscurities.

another no brainer. karma chameleon

Sensoria jumped out immediately. If only it had gone Top 10 or indeed Top 75.

I nearly broke my finger clicking on 'Oblivious' so fervently.

this is actually Yazoo or Aztec Camera but going to throw some love over to Re-Flex on this one.

Re-Flex I liked a bit after it was on the Edge of Seventeen soundtrack in 2000, but the singing annoys me.

this is actually Yazoo or Aztec Camera

Yes. Voted Yazoo.

Voted Ullman because both versions of the song are beautiful and when I was a kid it was played so rarely on the local radio that when I finally got it taped it was as if all the planets and stars aligned just for me.

A weak volume, I think, in that there is nothing I'm super passionate about here. "Sixty Eight Guns" is nice, I guess.

Calling this a weak volume and then picking The Alarm. I lol'ed.

I should've said so yesterday.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

After the feast of Vol. 11, this one seems like slim pickings to me. "Our Lips Are Sealed" is of course a genius song, but not sure if it needs a Fun Boy Three version. "Oblivious" is kind of a nice song, that I usually promptly forget about until the next time it pops up somewhere. I don't know. Maybe "Politics of Dancing"?

For those who don't know, I'd suggest "They Don't Know".

"they've never heard of love"

This is one of those "best vs. favorite" things. I may respect one song as a greater artistic achievement, but love a different one for sloppy sentimental reasons.

As I've said I think "Karma Chameleon" is best but "They Don't Know" is my favorite.

"Come Back and Stay" runs close behind. Young's voice is excellent on this - it's like putting a cheese grater on my heart, but in a good way. But he has stronger songs ("Common People" and "Playhouse").

Every entry in this series has awakened similar feelings. A split between my self as a critical adult listener, and my self as a dreamy 12-year-old with a Walkman. Both are salient.

"Our Lips Are Sealed" is of course a genius song, but not sure if it needs a Fun Boy Three version.

I don't know if "needs" enters into it but I love the downbeat FB3 version, one of the forerunners of the currently ubiquitous "moody remake of uptempo pop song" trend. My second favorite song on this comp.

Yaz for me.

Also love the Fun Boy Three version. Terry Hall co-wrote it, didn't he?

yep

I recognise 'Oblivious' is a well written song but I can't in all conscience vote for it as I don't like it. Conversely I recognise that 'The Politics Of Dancing' is kind of bad and annoying but it was the one I wanted to hear the most.

There are no other viable choices here.

Tracy Ullman? The inexplicable American vote again I suppose

Only You - Yaz

FP'd you for racism

Americanism is a religion not a race. Check mate.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

this is actually Yazoo or Aztec Camera

Tracy Ullman? The inexplicable American vote again I suppose

A hit in the US as well. And like Big Country I have the sense her stuff is currently more fondly remembered there than in the UK or Europe. Not that it's bad - just a different cultural memory. Also being slightly facetious for unreasonable pop rivalry luls in case that's not obvious.

nah nobody remembers tracey ullman's music here

I don't know where you're getting the idea that Big Country are not remembered in the UK, it's the second time you've said it.

they're still playing all the big venues too:

Gigs

(Dates and times are subject to change)

Fri 20/04/2018 Civic Hall – Cottingham
Fri 27/04/2018 The Platform – Morecambe
Fri 04/05/2018 Georgian Theatre – Stockton
Sat 05/05/2018 The Engine Shed – Lincoln
Sun 17/06/2018 Kelvingrove Bandstand – Glasgow (w/ The Skids)
Tue 19/06/2018 Summerhall – Edinburgh (w/ The Skids)
Fri 06/07/2018 Town Hall – Morley
Sat 07/07/2018 Linton Festival – Linton
Sat 14/07/2018 Brewood Music Festival – Brewood
Sun 15/07/2018 Doune The Rabbit Hole Festival – Stirlingshire
Sat 04/08/2018 Rewind Festival: North – Cheshire
Sat 25/08/2018 Towersey Festival – Thame
Thu 30/08/2018 Musiktheater Piano – Dortmund, Germany
Fri 31/08/2018 Werner Rennen – Hartenholm, Germany
Sat 01/09/2018 The Roxy – Flensburg, Germany
Thu 13/09/2018 The Buttermarket – Shrewsbury
Fri 14/09/2018 MECA – Swindon
Sat 15/09/2018 Phoenix – Exeter
Thu 20/09/2018 Cavern Club – Liverpool
Fri 21/09/2018 The Robin 2 – Bilston

I said they were more fondly remembered in the US, not that they aren't remembered in the UK. Just my impression, but they've never been retro cool and they were loathed by as many as loved them in their heyday. Sure they were big enough to still have a following here. Just a bit of rhetorical joshing though, don't get yer bagpipes in a twist.

Likewise with Ullman. She was a big (and bigger) TV star for longer in the US than UK wasn't she? We'd largely forgotten about her by then.

Old British shit that's more highly rated in the US in part because it's so 'British'. Like Monty Python innit. Anyway, was just musing on where the support was coming from.

I wasn't even aware Big Country was known in the US at all tbh. I don't remember them ever being particularly loathed either. It's not like that I care much either way, it's just a weird take on them.

I don't know how big they were/are in the US either tbh. Just a guess that those anthemic riffs might make more sense (now) in actual big country.

i do remember that simon reynolds once said they were his most hated band.

I wasn't even aware Big Country was known in the US at all tbh. I don't remember them ever being particularly loathed either. It's not like that I care much either way, it's just a weird take on them.

― (Henry) Green container bin with face (Tom D.), Thursday, 19 April 2018 12:59 (six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I don't know how big they were/are in the US either tbh. Just a guess that those anthemic riffs might make more sense (now) in actual big country.

― Gonk Steady Crew (Noel Emits), Thursday, 19 April 2018 13:05 (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

they don't know about US

If I recall correctly (and I do) Big Country had the one enormous hit single and then sort of faded in the US.

Had Simon Reynolds never heard the Alarm?

Big Country was on MTV through "Look Away" and "One Great Thing" and were college radio staples. This is easily verified by looking at MTV and CMJ charts. They scored only one Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hit in "In a Big Country," which hasn't gone away; it's a staple of retro radio.

They played on SNL in '83

NickB, hah

Yaz - no question.