Phew! We have Internet back today! We didn’t yesterday. I was getting worried I might not be able to do an ’80s Blog this week and that would be sad. Quality Problems. So without further ado…
1. Jessie’s Girl By: Rick Springfield
OK now. This is probably the most well known ’80s song LIKE EVER. I mean, it’s Rick Springfield. And at some point or another we all either wanted to be Jessie’s Girl or that we had Jessie’s Girl right? He seems a bit obsessed don’tcha think? Nice. Writing on a “brick wall”. Of course they’re using spray paint. Love that this is OBVIOUSLY in a studio. Hello fake couple. And then Rick just happens to show up in the corner and start stalking them OF COURSE. As usual with the ’80s he’s a stalker. Gotta love his feathered hair. I think he’s supposed to be looking straight at the camera lens but if you’ll notice, he’s looking a bit off to the side. Um, we’re over here! Nice suit. What’s the the crazy shadow behind him? Geez. Lower the lights people! Nice creased pants and short sleeve black shirt unbuttoned a bit. Trying to be sexy are we? Ha! Love the star filter effect! Too funny. You know, Jessie’s girl doesn’t seem that great. Boring. Nice shiny jacket with shoulder pads? Hee hee. Nice white tennis shoes with the suit. What the? He’s not scared of the woman behind him in the bathroom mirror? And I know we all play our guitars in the bathroom too. Smash that mirror! That’ll show her. So does he wish he had Jessie’s Girl? I’m not sure we’re clear about that.
2. Holding Back the Years By: Simply Red
This song brings back lots of memories as an early teen. I had the lovely opportunity to stay at the beach with a branch of my family (at least 2 summers in a row) and I hung out quite a bit with a cousin of mine chasing boys and causing trouble. This is one of those songs that brings me right back. I think I appreciate this song a lot more now than I did back then. If I remember right I liked to mock the lead singer and his hair. Pretty architecture in the first shot. Oh wait, is that a cemetery? Well, now I’m not so sure. Nice scenery. Ha! He has cassette tapes piled up. Ancient for sure. Wow. His red curly hair is everywhere! I’m thinking he’s having deep thoughts here. Um, anyone else disturbed about what he’s holding in his hand and the placement of it? Why do I feel like that was a mistake? Where’s he going? Why’s he leaving? Oh no, the little boy fell. Daddy issues? Whoa. She has big hair. Random. Nice effect with the huge empty checkerboard floor (yet another one) and the little table with Mom and son. Will someone please push his hair out of his eyes? Oh the childhood years. Feeling really depressed now. Are they playing in the cemetery? Not my ideal place to play but OK. Wait, I’m unclear here. Who’s making out with that woman? Again, not an ideal place to make out. But who am I to say? Cool train. Do you think anyone hears him singing on the train? He seems kinda loud to me.
3. Morning Train (9 to 5) By: Sheena Easton
And of course we start on train tracks. Get it? And then there’s this song right? We probably all know this song too. Very catchy beat whether we want to catch on or not. Who HATES those kinds of alarm clocks? Um, no thanks. Don’t need to jump across the room when it goes off. Nice green body suit thing. Is it me or does she look really funny on that bike? Nice hair. And she doesn’t look too stable on that bike either…what on earth? I was wondering what was in that basket. A green flag?? For the train? What’s going on? Holy eye makeup. And he doesn’t really care…Such strange camera angles. So much of it is her looking down at the camera. Gets me a little motion sick. You? Right. She’s pulling the gears. Sure she is. Oh and of course she’s cleaning it too. Uh huh. Sure. What is with her and that pole? OH sure. And she’s riding in the front of the train. That’s realistic. Is it me or is that song really long?
4. Life In a Northern Town By: Dream Academy
Oh I used to think this song was so deep. Hearing it does get me kinda nostalgic. Where is this? Seems like it might be in a northern town huh? Oh whoops, don’t fall there guy! Be careful going down that steep hill. Nice wind sound by the way. Why are they carrying instruments? I’d hate to damage one of those by falling…That doesn’t look like lemonade. Looks cold and damp there. Cool building. Whoa. He looked like he was gonna run over those two poor children. Geez. We can’t see you. There’s underwear hanging in your face. Oh there you are. Wait, there’s a woman in the group? I don’t think I realized that. And what is with that very ODD video effect above their heads? Seems like he’s walking A LOT. Ha! Remember those bouncy balls we used to sit on? Ha! Nice cameo picture shot of the Beatles with Paul McCartney especially. I love that every time they sing, “Hey!” they throw their arms up in the air. OK. What’s the significance of the balloons? What am I missing? Hee hee. Love how there’s clearly a light in his face to show him on camera as it seems to be getting dark there. His face has a glowing golden hue. Notice they all have that golden hue on their faces now.
5. Too Shy By: Kajagoogoo
What the heck kind of name is that? Who’s “googooing”??? So weird. Oh the ’80s. They were unique. Did this group even have another hit? I have no idea. I don’t remember much about this song as a kid except that now I hear it quite a bit. It’s lookin’ like some nice hair there. Can’t really tell yet. I’m likin’ all the outfits…That gal has nice big hair. Are they supposed to be at a dance club? Nice crazy blonde hair with dark hair too. And is that a skimpy yellow tank top and green pants he’s wearing? I bet he thinks he’s cool. Yes, she’s tired. We get it. So now we’ve gone back in time? Welcome back home boys from where? You know, I’m liking all the outfits in the band. Very colorful. He’s gotta be wearing a wig. Wait, so now we’re supposed to be in the present? When’d that happen? Will somebody please fix her tucked in shirt in the back? It’s all uneven. OK. Well that happened.
And that’s that. Hope you had fun. Got any you wanna share? Would love to see them!
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