Feature 80's Song of the Week = 'A Day' by Clan of Xymox (1985)

This weeks first Feature 80's song is a little song released in 1985 called A Day by Dutch electro-rock-goth-band Clan of Xymox. Clan of Xymox are one of those not-so-well-known 80's groups (in terms of the mainstream anyway) that produced heaps of songs that I have found to be inspiring and who have a dark post-apocalyptic-80's sound,which really instills a solid visuals in the mind of the listener, if that makes any sense. Clan of Xymox formed together in Amsterdam, Netherlands back in 1981. At that time the band consisted of original members Ronny Moorings, Pieter Nooten, Frank Weyzig, and Anke Wolbert, and according to their Wikipedia page they were referred to as the founding fathers of Goth. A Day was the first track on their 1985 self-titled debut album which has been properly classified as Darkwave in genre. If you like this song, I would highly recommend checking out their other work as there are quite a few good ones in my opinion, as well as heaps of remixes. That said, enjoy the song, and once again there may or may not be a second feature 80's of the week this time round.

Mentionable 80's Mashups: 'Sharp Dressed Party' by Divide and Kreate

The following is a mashup by DJ/VJ/mashup mastermind Divide and Kreate, and its called Sharp Dressed Party. This involves the 1983 ZZ-Top hit Sharp Dressed Man mashed with the 2001 release Get the Party Started by American pop-star Pink. Enjoy, more 80's mash-ups are coming.

#29 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Our Lips Are Sealed' by The Go-Go's (1981)

Greetings 80's fans, we are now in the 20's range of the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! So, without delay, #29 of the countdown is Our Lips Are Sealed by all female American Rock-pop group The Go-Go's. The Go-Go's started out on the music scene back in 1978 in Los Angeles, California and they are hailed as the first all-female rock band who played all of their own instruments, wrote all of their own songs, and that produced top Billboard Hot 100 hits. When they made it big in the early 1980's the band consisted of members Belinda Carlisle (vocals), Jane Wiedlin (guitar, vocals), Kathy Valentine (bass), and Elissa Bello (drums). Their debut album titled Beauty and the Beat (released in July of 1981) peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart and it is considered by many to be one of the true cornerstone new wave albums that paved the way for the genre at that time. That very same album would reach double platinum status, making it one of the most successful debut albums of all time. Incidentally, Our Lips Are Sealed was the first track on that very album and in the year 2000 Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs of All Time. Our Lips Are Sealed would peak at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #10 on U.S. Billboard Club Play Singles chart, #2 on the ARIA Singles chart, and #47 on the UK Singles chart. No doubt The Go-Go's hit it big in the 80's, and thus I knew I had to include at least one of their songs on this countdown. Apparently this song was covered by the Duff sisters in 2004. Well there is #29, stay tuned for #28 and may the force be with you...

Feature 80's Song of the Week = 'No Easy Way Out' by Robert Tepper (1985)

This weeks first feature 80's song is the 1985 release song No Easy Way Out by American singer Robert Tepper. According to his wikipedia page he is best known for this song and its appearance on the Rocky IV motion picture soundtrack, which was also released in 1985. Robert Tepper was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and he started his early-career in New York where he worked as a staff writer. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid 1980's and signed with the Scotti Brothers (same record label that signed acts such as James Brown, Survivor, and Weird Al Yankovic). It is said that Sylvester Stallone was really impressed with No Easy Way Out and thus it was included in the movie soundtrack. It would peak at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. So there it is, and stay tuned for I might just do a second random 80's feature song this week.

#30 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car' by Billy Ocean (1988)

Welcome back once again to the Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown (by VJ Samsonite). Today we are presenting #30, and the song is  Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car by British singer/performer Billy Ocean. Billy Ocean was born in Fyzabad, Trinidad in January of 1950, and moved with his family to Romford, Essex, England with his family at the age of 8. Now most of you will definitely remember this song from the late 1980's, and I specifically have a memory of drinking fruit punch Kool-Aid at a friends house and watching Billy Ocean's music video for this song on MTV, ahh..the memories. This song was a #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the Australian Charts, and the Hot R&B Songs chart. It would peak at #3 on the UK charts. One other interesting fact about this song that I had totally forgotten is that it was featured on the soundtrack of the 1988 teen adventure movie License to Drive, which featured 80's-duo Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, who were still basking in the success of the previous year's 1987 cult classic The Lost Boys. In fact, I think I even have a License to Drive keychain, and have no idea how I would ended up with it, but I figure I must have acquired it in a Disneyland trip that year, you know, when they were still doing Star Tours and Michael Jackson's 3D Captain EO...those were the days. In fact I wonder if I could even find a copy of License to Drive today, I bet it would be difficult to locate one. Well, enough reminiscing for now...stay tuned for #29! Apparently the original video is good, but YouTube has disabled embedding so this one will have to do.

Feature 80's Song of the Week = 'Midnight Man' by Sandra (1986)

This week's featured 80's song is....Midnight Man by German 80's pop singer/songwriter Sandra. Sandra Ann Lauer (born May 18th, 1962 in Saarbrücken, Germany) got her start as the lead singer of the all female disco trio Arabesque from 1979-1984 until 1985 when she started a solo career with her former husband Michael Cretu as the manager, composer, and producer of her 1st international single hit titled (I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena. Sandra was most popular in Europe, Brazil, Egypt, Sweden, Japan, Israel, Russia, France, and South Africa in the 1980's and early 1990's (and still is well known), and she produced 18 Top 20 Hits between the years of 1985-1992. The featured song, Midnight Man, was released on her second studio album in August, 1986 titled Mirrors. The single would peak at #8 on the Dutch Mega Top 100, #33 on the Italian Singles chart, #13 on the Swedish Singles chart, and  #24 on the German Singles chart. And there is the song for this week...there may be a second for this week but I haven't decided yet.

#31 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: 'Good Times' by INXS and Jimmy Barnes (1987)

Now for #31 of the Countdown...Good Times by Australian rock collaboration INXS and Jimmy Barnes. INXS were a bigtime 80's rock band that arose out of Sydney, Australia in 1977 and who would achieve international success with many albums and songs in the 1980's and 90's. INXS as they were in the 80's consisted of members Garry Gary Beers (bass guitar), Andrew Farriss (guitar/keyboards), Jon Farriss (drums), Tim Farriss (lead guitar), and Kirk Pengilly on (guitar/saxophone). For twenty years, INXS was lead by Michael Hutchence as their lead vocals, and no doubt the icon INXS's rock star image. On Novemeber 22nd, 1997 Hutchence was found dead in his Sydney hotel room, later to be ruled by the coroner's and autopsy reports as a suicide whilst under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Following the death of Hutchence the band didn't play publicly for a year or so, but then they started up again and continue to play to this day, although never quite the same. Jimmy Barnes on the other hand, was a Scottish born-Australian rock-singer and songwriter. According to his Wikipedia page, Barnes currently holds the title of the Australian rock artist with the highest number of hit albums. In 1973 Jimmy Barnes joined a band named Cold Chisel, until the early 1980's when he began his solo career. In 1986 Jimmy Barnes and INXS recorded 2 songs together, Good Times (which was a cover of the original 1968 release-song by the Easybeats), and Laying Down the Law, both of which would appear on the 1987 teen horror film soundtrack of a true 80's-movie classic (one of my personal favorite 80's movies), a little Joel Schumacher film called The Lost Boys. Good Times would reach #2 on the ARIA charts, #16 on the UK Singles chart, and #47 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Good Times was also used to to promote the national Australia Made series of concerts that took place between Boxing Day 1986 and Australia Day 1987. This is one of those pub favorites that simply cannot be left off of this countdown, and it is most definitely dance-able. So there is #31, now we are getting down to it folks, #30 is next and then the 20's is in...stay tuned.

Featured 80's Song of the Week = 'Affair of the Heart' by Rick Springfield (1983)

Ahoy there 80's Fans! I have decided that I have just too many 80's songs sitting here in the waiting and not getting played (though some do nowadays). So I have decided to start doing a weekly, and sometimes bi-weekly feature 80's song just to enrich the content of this vlog a bit more as well as to expand everyone's 80's songs repetoire.

Here we have our first feature song, for this week of January 9th, 2011. Rick Springfield released Affair of the Heart in 1983 on his Living in Oz album. The song peaked at #40 on the Billboard Top 40, and it was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance that year, but it lost out to Michael Jackson's Beat It. Now for the song...

Mentionable Mashups: A plus D mashup: 'Sexy Peek-A-Boo' (Justin Timberlake vs Siouxsie and the Banshees)

The following is another mentionable mashup, which involves an 80's song mashed together with a more recent song. This one is an A plus D mashup Sexy Peek-A-Boo (Justin Timberlake vs Siouxsie and the Banshees). For the 80's record, Peek-A-Boo, by 70's-80's artists Siouxsie and the Banshees was released on their 1988 Peepshow album. For more info on this and other mashups by the A plus D artist can be found a the Bootie Mashup website HERE, and it can be found on their Best of Bootie 2006 CD. Enjoy and be sure to check out the Bootie Mashup site if you liked this one.

#32 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Hello Again" by The Cars (1984)

Now presenting #32 of the Countdown, and the song is.....Hello Again, by American 70's and 80's rock-band legends The Cars. Now, The Cars have appeared on this list once already with Shake It Up clenching the #72 spot, but I must say that Hello Again is one of my favorite Cars songs of all time, among a few others not mentioned here. Most of their songs don't classify that well as 80's Dance, but this one has that rock-tempo that qualifies it here. Hello Again made its initial appearance on their 5th studio album (and my favorite) titled Heartbeat City. Upon its release in 1984 the single Hello Again peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #22 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and #8 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and the Heartbeat City album itself reached #3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and #25 on the UK Album chart. Now, for some previously mentioned trivia; The Cars formed originally back in 1976 in Boston, USA and the band consisted of members Ric Ocasek (vocals and guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards and synth) and David Robinson (drums). Another interesting fact is that the music video for Hello Again was directed by Andy Warhol, who also makes a cameo appearance in the video along with Gina Gershon, and be be patient as the first 30 seconds or so of the video is just a false intro to the start of the song. Keep your ears open, #31 is coming!

Mentionable Mashups: DJ Tripp mashup 'Just Stop Believin' (Lady Gaga Vs Journey)

 DJ Tripp mashup 'Just Stop Believin' (Lady Gaga Vs Journey)
Here we have another mentionable 80's-song mashup worth giving a listen. This one was apparently one of the big mashup hits in recent years. And, for the record, Don't Stop Believin' was released in 1981 by Journey.

#33 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown: "Holiday" by Madonna (1983)

Here we are again, its been a few days, but I think we are ready for #33 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown, which is one you should know....Holiday, by the Queen of Pop, Madonna. Seeing that its just past the holidays I guess that one is a little ironic. Now, I have posted 2 other Madonna songs on this countdown, one at #77, and the other at #47, so look there for all the trivia info I could find. Now that it is officially 2011, Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson would all be 52 this year. As for the song Holiday, it was originally released in 1983 on her self-titled debut Madonna album, and later also appeared on the You Can Dance compilation in 1987, then again on the Immaculate Collection compilation in 1990,  and most recently re-released on the 2009 Celebration compilation album, all of which I would recommend of course. According to wikipedia Holiday was written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens of Pure Energy and it was then offered to Madonna by her producer as a potential single for her debut album, which would peak at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and thus be her first Top 20 Hit. It would reach #2 on the UK Singles chart in 1985 and #1 on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. We all know that Madonna has quite a bio and history, so I would encourage you to check out her wikipedia page HERE if you want more of that sort of information. And, we're off to the next, but first enjoy the original music video below....

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!