Even Brady is a Fan Now

I don't post football smack talk very often, but in light of yesterday afternoon's game, I had to share this 'shopped image. It's just too funny.

Steelers defeat Patriots, 25-17

Friday 80s Flashback for October 28, 2011

[Halloween 2011] -- Ah, yeah. It's time for a very special Halloween edition of the Friday 80s Flashback. Now, because I missed posting a flashback last week, and because you've all been good little ghouls and ghosts, there might be an extra treat or two this week. And your first treat is that you can check out all the tunes featured in this week's flashback as a single video playlist! Of course, you can still check them out one at a time, the option which includes my comments and recollections. But either way, you're getting great 80s music for the Halloween weekend! So, if you are opting for your flashbacks one-at-a-time, you can read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for October 14, 2011

[The Art and Science of Alan Parsons Recordings] -- If you read the Flashback of July 29, 2011, might recall how ... (ahem) instrumental ... Alan Parsons has been to the recording industry. Before launching the band that bears his name, Parsons was involved in some rather seminal records: he was an assistant engineer on The Beatles' Abbey Road (1969) and Let it Be (1970), and he engineered Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973). While working as a producer at EMI, Parsons met Eric Woolfson, a self-styled composer and songwriter who was working as a session pianist.

From 1976 to 1987, Parsons and Woolfson released 10 studio albums, eight of which were certified Gold, and 28 singles. Their recordings were covered a wide range of topics from mystery (Tales of Mystery and Imagination) to science fiction (I, Robot and Eye in the Sky), and from the occult (Pyramid) to the impact of industrial technology (Ammonia Avenue). The Alan Parsons Project was never really a hit-making machine, but five of their singles broached the top 25 in the US Hot Adult Contemporary charts, and eight ranked in the top 50 the US Billboard Hot 100. And even if you did not care for the vocals or lyrical content of a particular song, every one of The Project's records were finely engineered for maximum audio enjoyment.

Which brings me to the reason I am featuring Alan Parsons and his colleagues in this week's Flashback.

On Monday, GeekDad posted an interview with "veteran music geek" Alan Parsons (Veteran Music Geek Alan Parsons Talks iPad Recording, ‘Irreversible’ Loss of Fidelity). This was the first time I learned of the three-DVD set that was released this year: Alan Parsons' Art and Science of Sound Recording. After reading the interview (which I highly recommend; you did see I linked it for you, right?), I immediately put the DVDs on my wish list. So, to celebrate this amazing DVD set, I chose three songs from the Project's 80s catalog. We've already featured one of the band's biggest hits in a previous flashback. And you know I tend to avoid the obvious selections when assembling a retrospective. So make the jump to see what is featured this week.

Friday 80s Flashback for October 7, 2011

[Washington Rocks] -- Not Washington, DC. Washington state. Last week, I was vacationing in Washington state (spending time first in Seattle and then in and around Olympic National Park). I thought it might be interesting to see what the 80s music scene was like in this state. Turns out, Washington was quite the hotbed for punk and heavy metal during that time (once you discount the brief fad of Twee Pop). Now, I had intended to post this flashback from the road, but I was not able to finish it in time. So, I'm brushing off the draft, cleaning it up, and posting it this week! If you would like to know what heavy rockin' gems I found, just read and hear more after the break. (Warning: These songs are loud, and possibly disturbing!)

Friday 80s Flashback for September 23, 2011

R.E.M. then (circa 1982) ...

... and shortly before the end in 2011

[R.E.M.ember] -- On Wednesday, September 21, R.E.M. posted the announcement they were officially "calling it a day." In other words, as of the other day, R.E.M. is no longer operating as a band. For the remainder of that Wednesday, I mentally played R.E.M.'s catalog as I mourned their passing. An era is officially and sadly over.  Of course I had to make them the focus of this week's Flashback!  With a career that spans 31 years, R.E.M.'s catalog is massive (15 studio albums, 2 live albums, 10 compilation albums, 3 EPs, 64 singles, 12 video albums, 56 music videos, and 1 soundtrack according to Wikipedia). I'll bet you're wondering what tracks I selected for this R.E.M.embrance post. Did I hit upon one of your favorites? Well, read and hear more after the break.  

Friday 80s Flashback for September 16, 2011

[Big Business] -- This week's Flashback is inspired by the production that opens at my theater this weekend: Big Boys by Rich Orloff is a comedic look at corporate greed in the person of Victor Burlington. He is not exactly one of the smartest guys in the room, but he certainly ranks among the most corrupt and the least ethical. Although Big Boys is set in the post-Enron world, its story is somewhat familiar to those of us who came of age in the 80s. We can certainly recall pre-internet stories about the excesses of CEOs -- remember the stock trading scandals of the early 80s? If not, refer to Michael Douglas' performance as Gordon Gekko schooling a young Charlie Sheen (before his "Winning" ways) in the 1987 flick, Wall Street, which dramatized the corporate raiding and greedy excess that typified much of the decade. So this week's flashback looks at songs about big business, big money, and big ambition. No need to worry about insider trading here, so if you want to know what made the cut, you and read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for September 9, 2011

[I Love NY, on September 11 and Always] -- On September 11, 1981, the top song in the U.S. was "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (#1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from August 9 to October 10). In baseball, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Cleveland Indians at Tiger Stadium. Movie goers were about to lift Arthur to the role of top-grossing movie for that weekend. Confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor ended. On the world stage, the U.S. accused the USSR of using poison gas in Laos, Cambodia and Afghanistan. The Soviets began amphibious landing exercises on the Polish coast as part of naval training in Baltic Sea even while pressure for democracy was mounting within Poland. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat claimed Referendum results supported his crackdown efforts against opposition forces, and the Ayatollah Khomeini's personal representative was assassinated in Tabriz, Iran. And a private plane crashed into the Swing Auditorium, a legendary concert venue in San Bernardino, California, damaging it beyond repair.

30 years later, we are preparing to remember the aftermath of a trio of plane crashes that occurred on the East Coast, destroying an architectural icon in downtown New York and devastating our national psyche. I have previously written about 9-11 (The Real "Never Forget," They Crashed the Planes and Changed the Rules, and Visit to United Flight 93 Memorial for example). But I have yet to do so from the lens of 80s music. So, this week, the Friday 80s Flashback celebrates New York City. Wondering what songs we have for the Big Apple? Read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for September 2, 2011 (Flashbackiversary!)

[One Year Anniversary] -- Holy Macanoly! I started posting the Friday 80s Flashback on September 3, 2010. That makes today my one year Flashbackiversary! To celebrate, let's turn back the clock -- er, calendar -- one year and revisit that very first flashback. I'm struck by the sparsity and simplicity of my initial foray into weekly pop-culture ruminations. In fact, that very first flashback has no commentary whatsoever! There isn't even a theme! The weekly theme didn't become part and parcel of the flashback until the fourth entry, on September 24, 2010 (a two-fer: Angry Edition and Uplifting Edition). Sample lyrics first appeared in the November 5, 2010, flashback (Politics Schmolotics). On December 10, 2010, we saw my first attempt at incorporating a header image with the flashback (Winter Holidays: Week 2). 

Read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for August 26, 2011

[Cruising with Donnie Iris] -- Due to an incident or two on the PA Turnpike, I was forced to use one of my alternate routes for my evening commute the other night. On one hand, even this was an unfortunate choice. Traffic was slow going, but at least it wasn't the standstill that would have greeted me at the Mid-County exchange. On the other hand, this was the most wonderful drive of the week. Although the pace was slower than I might prefer, it made for a nice pairing with the cooler evening air that graced us that night. I drove with my windows down and my stereo volume up. Way up. My iPod happened upon a tune by one of my fave 80s tunesmiths, and I immediately dialed in a full block of his work. The chunky guitar work, measured use of synths, driving percussion, and clever lyrics entertained me the entire ride home.

"I have to dedicate a full Flashback to this guy!" I said to myself. And, yes, before you ask, I did say that out loud.

Now, this artist is no stranger to the Friday 80s Flashback. He led off the Hi-Tech Living and Loving Flashback earlier this year. He might, however, be a stranger to many 80s-philes outside of the Three Rivers Area of Pittsburgh, PA. Today's flashback artist was born in Elmwood City, PA, in 1943 and he grew up to become a Pittsburgh rock icon as well as a nerd rock success story. As I mentioned in the January 28, 2011 flashback, he had three things going for him: "the nerd appeal of a Buddy Holly or Elvis Costello, a great sense of humor, and one of the most melodic screams in rock & roll." By now, if you've picked up the hints I've been dropping, you know I'm talking about the one and only Donnie Iris. Oh, what's that? You though he was merely a one-hit wonder? Not so. He has multiple hits (two of them coming from one-hit wonder bands that he was part of in the 70s). Wondering what I've chosen from Donnie Iris' career for this week's flashback? Read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback (for August 12, 2011) on Saturday!

[Summer] -- I heard a back-to-school radio ad the other day. You know what my first thought was? No, it wasn't that I needed school supplies, or that I dread the return of school buses on my morning commute. No, it was that the school season is just around the corner and I've yet to post a summer-themed flashback! So I'm going to remedy that error right now. Back in the 80s, summer was always a great time for music. And there are far too many great summer classics to fit in one flashback, but I'll do my best to share some of my favorites. What hot tunes made the cut this week? Read and hear more after the break.