Mentionable Mashups: 'Sgt. Pepper´s Paradise' The Beatles vs. Guns N Roses (By Jimmi Jammes)

Another mentionable mashup, which includes a Beatles favorite mashed with 1988 Guns N' Roses hit Paradise City.

'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)' by the Ramones (1989)

Tis' the season, and tis' my duty to post this 1989 Christmas classic by the Ramones. 'Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)' by the Ramones (1989), and off of their Brain Drain album. Happy Holidays everybody!

#34 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol (1983)

Now presenting #34 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown, and the song is...Rebel Yell by a true British-punk-rocker and legend Billy Idol. Now, this is the second Billy Idol song to appear on the Top 100 Countdown, and like I said before, it may not be the last one. And, from my previous post: Idol's real name is William Michael Albert Broad, and he was born on November 30th, 1955 in Stanmore, Middlesex, England, which makes the Brit rocker 54 this year! Idol bounced around a bit in his earlier years, and in fact was first a member of the punk-rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1976, but before they were actually called Siouxsie and the Banshees. In 1977 he moved on to join Chelsea, and then with bandmate Tony James he quit and co-founded the band Generation X, at which point he switched from guitar to lead vocals. In 1981 Idol moved to New York and started up his successful solo career. Rebel Yell was released in 1983 as Idol's 2nd studio album, which produced 4 singles that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The album itself peaked at #6 on that year's Billboard Hot 200 albums chart. MTV featured 3 of the hit videos off of this album for the songs Flesh for Fantasy, Eyes Without a Face, and Rebel Yell. This past Summer I was shocked to hear that Idol has since started doing small time gigs for Summer-fairs in relatively random and rural US cities?? Now, the reason why I was shocked, is because you look at some other bands from the 80's who are still charging over $500.00/ticket at their shows and yet Idol is playing these smalltime gigs, and he really is one of my favorite 80's artists, I guess them's the breaks, or something like that...Anyways, onwards to #33!

'Christmas Wrapping' by The Waitresses (1981)

Another 80's Christmas tune worth posting, this one is 'Christmas Wrapping' by The Waitresses (1981).

dj Lobsterdust Mashup: 'Down Unda Club' Men At Work vs 50 Cent

Here is a mashup I had mentioned before, some of you are already familiar with it, for those that aren't you are in for a treat, check it!
Men at Work vs. 50 Cent - Down Under Club from VJ Brewski on Vimeo.

#35 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Working For the Weekend" by Loverboy (1981)

And #35 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is.....Working For the Weekend, by 80's Canadian rock band Loverboy! Loverboy was formed in Calgary, Alberta Canada back in the year 1980, and it consisted of members  Mike Reno (lead vocalist), Paul Dean (lead guitar), Scott Smith (bass guitar), Doug Johnson (keyboards), and Matt Frenette (drums). The band is currently based out of Vancouver, B.C. in Canada, and have since picked up member Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve. Loverboy has quite a classic 80's rock sound, and they are best known for this Working For the Weekend single and their Turn Me Loose (also 1981) single. Throughout the years Loverboy has produced 4 albums that have achieved multi-platinum status, thus selling millions of albums since their early days in the 1980's. Working For the Weekend comes off of their October 1981, 2nd studio release album titled Get Lucky.  The song peaked at #2 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and at #29 on the Pop Singles chart. The Get Lucky album itself would attain the peak spot at #7 on the Billboard Hot 200 albums chart, and would remain listed on the Hot 200 chart for over 2 years and sell around 4 million copies in the USA alone. This album was later remastered and re-release in 2006 with 4 bonus tracks of previously unreleased demo songs. Now, many of you will probably recognize this song from the coal-mining scene in the 2001 hit Ben Stiller comedy film Zoolander. I must say that is the scene that comes to mind when I hear this song, which also makes this the second 80's dance hit off of this Top 100 Countdown that was on the Zoolander Soundtrack, whoever produced that soundtrack sure knew their 80's music! This song was also featured in the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, an episode of the television series Scrubs, as well as an episode of Saturday Night Live in the famous Chippendale's audition skit with Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze (RIP to them both).  I would also add that Working For the Weekend was ranked at #100 on VH1's 100 greatest songs of the 80's, so I am not the only one including it on a Top 100 80's list aye!  ;-D

'Thank God It's Christmas' by Queen (1984)

Thank God Its Christmas, by Queen (1984). Another 80's Christmas Classic to add to your Christmas list.

VJ JAREN and Party Ben mashup: 'Somebody Rock Me' The Killers vs the Clash

#36 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "One Night Love Affair" by Bryan Adams (1985)

#36 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is....One Night Love Affair, by by Canadian singer/songwriter Bryan Adams. Now, seeing that we've had one of his other songs on this countdown already I am going to repost some repeat information from that post here: Bryan Adams was born on November 5th, 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and has become the bestselling Canadian male recording artist of all time! Over the years he has won 15 Grammy Awards, 18 Juno Awards, as well as MTV Awards, ASCAP Awards, and American Music Awards. I would also mention that his music done for films have been nominated for Golden Globes and Academy Awards as well. In April 2006 Adams was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and in 2008 he was ranked #38 on the list of All-Time Top Artists by the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts. He is no doubt a big player in the music biz, and he got his start there in 1977. Adams has sold somewhere around the vicinity of 100 million records worldwide. One Night Love Affair (which I might add is my personal Bryan Adams favorite) comes off of his 4th studio album titled Reckless, which was released back in 1985. This song reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #7 on the Mainstream Rock Chart, and it also appears on his Anthology album. I must admit that I was not that aware of this song, and the first time I actually heard it was whilst watching the classic 80's Val Kilmer movie called Real Genius (which has a few other great songs on the soundtrack I would recommend checking out for sure!), and you can hear it during the scene of the "Tanning Invitational" where a group of students are enjoying a racy pool party in a large university lecture hall. Well, there is the #36 folks, totally rad, and on we go to the next!

Pssst...I hope you all had a chance to check out the 80's Christmas music post and that you've been enjoying yourself some 80's classics. While I was writing that list I was thinking about all of these old 80' Christmas time movies (Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, Scrooged, Gremlins, etc.) and all the nostalgic childhood feelings that brought up. Well, don't know if I will have another Countdown post before X-mas, so Merry Christmas if I don't do one before then!

Your 'Top 20' 80's Christmas Songs List!

Ho Ho Ho 80's fans...so I have been saying since Halloween that I was going to also make an 80's Christmas-songs list for your various Christmas parties. This list (like the Halloween list) is really just the starter for the dough so to speak, so add many more of your own, but keep these in mind too! So, without further ado, here is my top 20 80's Christmas Songs list (and in no particular order):

1.) Last Christmas by Wham! (1984) (claro!)

2.) Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You by Billy Squier (my personal favorite) (1981)

3.) Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC (1987) 

4.) Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight) by The Ramones (1989)

5.) Jingle Bell Rock by Daryl Hall & John Oates (1983)

6.) Christmas Time by Bryan Adams (1985) 

7.) Mistress for Christmas by ACDC (1989)

8.) I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas by Bon Jovi (1987)

9.) Thank God It's Christmas by Queen (1984)

10.) Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses (1981)

11.) Christmas Vacation by Mavis Staples (1989) (from the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Soundtrack)

12.) Another Rock n' Roll Christmas by Gary Glitter (1984)

13.) Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (1987)

14.) Merry Christmas Baby by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (1987)

15.) Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by U2 (1987) 

16.) Run Rudolph Run by Bryan Adams (1987)

17.) Another Lonely Christmas by Prince & the Revolution (1984)

18.) 2000 Miles by the Pretenders (1987)

19.) Last Night I Saw Santa Claus by New Kids on the Block (1989) 

20.) Santa Baby by Madonna (1987)

-Well that about wraps up my Top 20 80's Christmas songs! If you feel that you need more for your party there is always the The Jackson Five Christmas Album, although it was released in 1970, so doesn't apply to this blog.  Also, there is a longer list I found at another website HERE. Happy Holidays Everybody!!
 

 

#37 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "All Night Long (All Night)" by Lionel Richie (1983)

#37 of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown is....All Night Long (All Night), by R&B-Soul Giant and American singer-songwriter-record producer Lionel Richie! Now I can admit that I am not that well versed in Lionel Richie's works, but I do know a couple of his songs, and I also knew I had to include this one on the dance hits countdown! Lionel Richie was born June 20th, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama USA. Now some of you may already know that Richie joined up as a member/ singer/saxophonist for the classic Motown Records soul-funk group the Commodores in 1968. Over time he would write some hit songs for Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, and latin jazz composer La Palabra. It wasn't until 1982 that he took his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album which produced 3 hit singles including the #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit Truly. His second album, titled Can't Slow Down, included All Night Long (All Night), which would reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, Pop, and Adult Contemporary Charts, whilst the album itself would sell around 20 million copies and win 2 Grammy Awards, including Grammy for Album of the Year in 1985. All Night Long (All Night) is a classic 80's dance hit, which is known for its caribbean/latin flavor, of which a few other 80's icons (such as Gloria Estefan or Exposé) were also doing at that time. And according to wikipedia the song also contains an old Jamaican chant. Richie has made quite a few major performances over the years, including the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Norway, Australian Idol in 2007, and American Idol in 2009. We hope to see more from Lionel Richie in the years to come! That all said, I am in the process of brewing up a top 20 or 25 80's Christmas songs, but I have yet to put that together, so for now, start gearing up and watching your 80's Christmas favorites, I know I will be (Scrooged, Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, just to name a few), and then next up we are already going to be on #36!

Billy Idol vs Gorillaz - Gorilla Idol (LOCK3DOWN MASHUP)

#38 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Is This Really Love?" by Narada Michael Walden (1987)

We are back, in the 80's once again, and this time we have a gem, at #38 its.....Is This Really Love? by  American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter Narada Michael Walden. Now many of you might be asking yourselves questions like "who the hell is that?" or "what song is that?" Well, I must admit that I did not know of this song or artist in the 80's, and in all actuality it has been later on (since about the year 2000 or so) that I have actually been into 80's music, movies, and media again. You know, I went through that same 90's music stage that the rest of us did only to end up in the "noughties" with not much happening musically, only to rediscover the upbeat and just plain more interesting music of the 80's decade. But now, I have noticed an influx of new-energy, especially on the music scene coming in, which is quite exciting...But that really is a tangent, so getting back to the artist....Walden started out on his musical career in the 1970's and produced 9 studio albums between the 1976-1988. Walden has collaborated with many other major talents that achieved #1 Awards, such as Whitney Houston's How Will I Know and I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), or Aretha Franklin's Freeway of Love, to Diana Ross's Take Me Higher.  He has also owned and managed the renowned Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California since the mid-1980's. Is This Really Love? can't be found on any of his studio albums however, as it was produced and featured in the 1987 Meg Ryan/Dennis Quaid/Martin Short film Innerspace (another 80's classic fo sho). So if you are looking for it and can't find it, the soundtrack is where you will find it. If I remember correctly from the film, this is the song they play in the dance club scene when "the Cowboy" character is dancing with/hitting on Meg Ryan's character. If you like this song I would also recommend another 80's classic song of his (which sadly won't be featured on the countdown as I have filled all the spots, so I will mention it here) caribbean-sounding Ain't Nobody Ever Loved You track, found on his 1983 Looking at You, Looking at Me album. And there it is kids, now go out and watch Innerspace, we could all use some good 80's comedy in our lives these days after all, and stay-tuned for #37!