I need me some ’80s Silliness! I’m back for more!
1. You Can Call Me Al By: Paul Simon
OK. Who doesn’t remember this one? How could you forget? MTV not only played it constantly, but then VH1 did. All ages would find themselves singing along with the little diddy. Perhaps you even bebopped around to it. For some reason, my biggest memory of this is my mother going around the house singing, “And you can call me Al”…Nice pink room right off. Oh hey look! It’s Chevy Chase! That was the other part. Wow! Paul Simon and Chevy Chase together! I mean, what were the odds?? Such a basic set and it didn’t matter this time. And there’s a saxophone and trumpet. Wonder if they’ll play them? Ha! Let’s all laugh. They’re trying to come in the doorway at the same time and it’s funny because Paul Simon is so much shorter than Chevy Chase. And of course I still find myself chuckling because Chevy Chase is singing Paul Simon’s part. Yep, I fell for it. What is with Chevy’s hair flips? OK it is kinda funny…Paul walking by the doorway with a big red drum. Nice jacket Chevy. Paul looked so thrilled to sing backup. Chevy’s having too much fun. Where’d Paul go? That little toy instrument Paul’s playing reminds me of my first instrument I got as a kid that I think was supposed to be a Sesame Street toy or something and I got to learn how to play “Three Blind Mice” and I think even Grover taught me. Love Grover. Anyway, silly boys playing saxophone and trumpet and dancing while supposedly playing. And then there was all this “talk” about them being (GASP!) High…on life…yeah…that’s it. Wow. Chevy is like a foot taller than Paul. I can’t believe I still chuckle over Paul trying to get the big red drum in the doorway while wearing his guitar and getting it caught. Silly. Ha! I don’t think I realized how funny Paul Simon is in this. With twiddling thumbs and everything.
2. I Want Candy By: Bow Wow Wow
What kind of a name is that? Bow Wow Wow. Silly don’tcha think? And sure. I want candy. Don’t you? Oh wait, what are they talking about? Nice ’80s graphics right at the start. Ha! Hello blue/green screen! Wow, the saturation is awful isn’t it? And yes, guy, your sunglasses are so cool with the reflection. Actually, I always wanted a pair like that. We were so cool in the ’80s weren’t we? This is kinda trippy isn’t it? Nice mohawk. Of course there are candy canes in the sand. I know that’s where I always find them. What is that she’s wearing? She has cool hair. Yep. That’s really the sun rising over the ocean. Uh huh. I could never bury myself in the sand like that. Scary! Who knows what’s in there? Ha! She’s wearing hightops in the sand. Nice! Random shot of her licking an ice cream cone. I don’t get it. That drummer guy is bugging me. I don’t know why. Yeah! Let’s all have fun! Yep. That’s a big candy cane. I don’t know. That water looks pretty radioactive to me…
3. Sister Christian By: Night Ranger
I remember singing this song a lot with my sister growing up. And I apparently had no idea about what I was singing. Oh how often that’s happened to me lately. It just had a cool beat and it was oh so deep. Is someone tapping a tin can in the beginning? OK. There’s a bunch of gals in the shot in graduation garb. I get the “Sister” part. What is with the white gloves they’re wearing? Are we supposed to get the idea they’re all so innocent? Hmm. Not sure I believe that. What is with graduation caps? They are so awkward! I remember wearing mine and it didn’t get easier to wear when I graduated college. Just sayin’. Of course there is a red curtain behind them. Are curtains on a stage ever any other color on camera? Nice slow motion of them all walking with their diplomas down the stares as their hair bounces. I wonder–did my hair ever bounce when it was long like that and I went down the stairs? I thought it was about the blonde. Of course it is. Those blondes are always getting into trouble. And the big buildup…ready? Feels like I should start headbanging or something but it is SO not the song. Hit those drums! And we see the band. Nice big hair they all have. What the?! They all have music stands? Did they just learn the music??? Ah yes. Let’s go back in time and give a deep blue effect. Is she Rapunzel? Is she going to open the window and grow really long hair to reach down through the window so her Prince can come? Wow. The band has some pretty rad outfits on. What is with the purple filter now? Colorful video. Uh oh. I sense some trouble coming…Let’s show all the rainbows of filters we can use. Now it’s orange. Hmm. So she decides to break free and go with the rest of the gals to hang out in a cool car with guys from a band who are much older than they are???? Tsk tsk. Bad message…
4. Kokomo By: The Beach Boys
And here’s another that we all just DIDN’T get enough of. It was only played into the ground and out the other side by radios and MTV…over and over again. And come on Beach Boys. That’s all you could come up with? Geez. Looks pretty there. And who can forget, “Bermuda, Bahama, Come on pretty mama”…Hmm. And they all wear light colored clothing of course. They’re cool like that. Nice half unbuttoned shirt there…and green cap…And well, who didn’t love the movie, “Cocktail”? I mean, it had Tom Cruise in it and he was cute then. It didn’t matter what was going on in it. I have special memories of watching this movie with my best friend and absolutely losing our minds with utter silliness as we drank soda (seriously ONLY SODA) out of our orange plastic New Kids On the Block cups. We were so inspired by it all that we even made a poem…about New Kids…I still have it somewhere. Not sure how much of Cocktail we watched…Actually, it’s one of my favorite memories growing up. And then remember being like, “Oh my Gawd! Is that John Stamos on the drums?”. I mean, how cool was that? Now that was random to see. OH John Stamos…You were so cute back then…And another Beach Boy is wearing a red cap. What is with the caps? Do you think there are enough scantily clad ladies in bikinis in that audience?
5. No One Is To Blame By: Howard Jones
I thought this song was oh so deep when I was a young gal. But is NO ONE ever really to blame or is that an excuse??? Deep thoughts…What is that the drumsticks are hitting? Is that a giant tambourine? Oh look. It’s like we get to see the mechanics of a song in a way. Look at those gears go. Another dude with cool hair! I can tell. Is it orange? Oh and he’s already thinking so deeply. See that? Nice dissolves between shots at least in the beginning and now I just feel confused and dizzy…I think they all thought it was cool but my poor eyes. Oh yeah. His hair IS orange and it’s really big on top of his head. Neat. A cello. Let’s all sing, “And you want her” (echo: want her) “And she wants you” (echo: wants you)…allllll the way through the song. Kinda cool to see the lyrics on screen pass through but still, it is all just too busy! What is that contraption he’s sitting at? Is it me or was it just creepy when these ’80s singers would sing directly to the camera??? And I mean, RIGHT INTO IT. Who wants to bet he worked really hard to get his hair that way?
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