Gen X-er living in a time machine, high on nostalgia. Flashbacks is the debut album by Peach on a beach, a tribute to growing up in Dartmouth, NS during the 80s. Available on streaming and CD. Check out YouTube videos for "Beeping and Bleeping", "Pizza Corner", "Before Call Display", "Anticipation Street" and "Boogeyman Trail". Released on May 3, “Zooming In" is an electro-pop, over the top tribute to my lifelong passion for maps. Official website: https://www.peachonabeach.ca/
Wouldn't it be good if "Wouldn't it Be Good" would be covered by Matthew Good?
This is a great pop song with the iconic opening guitar riff and an irresistibly catchy synth line. The tune keeps getting better: the sweet instrumental bridge with the guitar & brass solo is genius. Always enjoyed the deep lyrics with a slightly dark tone. "Wouldn't it Be Good" is one of the first songs that lead to a shift in my preferences over to the melancholic side of the spectrum. For its time the video was entrancing, with hints of what to come in the next year with A-ha's "Take On Me". Fave lyrics: "Wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away?"
"Blue Monday" sounded nothing like Joy Division. Released three years since New Order formed from the ashes, the number one selling 12" single of all time was the result of an evolution from bleak post-punk to cutting-edge electronic music.
The song was inspired from the band's desire for an automated excuse to hit the bar early.
"Blue Monday" ended up being an accidental innovation, inspiring electronic music for the mind. The drum machines and synths do their thing, mostly by accident as the story goes, while Bernard Sumner's sparse guitar and Hook's iconic bass weave in and out of the mix. While the infectious beats almost force you to move your body, Sumner's obtuse lyrics stirs the mind (mine, anyways).
It's not my favourite track by New Order, but it was the one that reeled me in.
I used to play this song incessantly but have moved on to a deeper dive and appreciate a few others. But every once in a while I"ll feel the need to crank 'er up and still be in awe that something so futuristic was even possible in 1983.
Coming in at an economical 3 minutes and 23 seconds, "Echo Beach" is over far too soon. Toronto's Martha & the Muffins not only created one of Canada's best new wave songs, it was among the best made period. It was also the first 45 single I ever bought, inspired to purchase with my allowance after wearing out the track from the classic K-tel High Voltage album (see the bottom of this post for a complete tracklist of songs).
The song starts with a catchy guitar riff before the synths kick in. And does it get any better than that sax bridge? The fun, energetic vibe, especially visible in the final chorus between the two Marthas reminds me a bit of the B52s's dynamic between Kate and Cindy. As a pre-teen, I had a crush on the Martha dressed in red playing the keys and backup vocals.
A nostalgic song about nostalgia, turns out that the mythicalEcho Beach that beckoned ‘far away in time’ became my future: I couldn't help but hum the tune from the first moment I saw Mavillette Beach the day of my interview for Clare tourism, 20 years ago this April. It's been on my playlist ever since. Because I can't help it, I'm a romantic fool...
"A Criminal Mind" showed off Gowan's uniqueness. "Strange Animal" proof he could rock. "Cosmetics" was groovy. But "Moonlight Desires" is...spiritual. Mayans. Mullets. Battlestar Galactica.
Full disclosure: I lifted that last bit from the You Tube comments but it's a fitting summary.
"Moonlight Desires" may as well been created on another planet, a verse from another universe: it touches the soul and makes the goosebumps.
The arrangement impeccable, the lyrics magical, the vocals haunting, the setting majestic. It's everything I love about the 80s, a reminder how fortunate to have grown up during this era.
The collaboration with Jon Anderson (YES) is a perfect harmony, a sort of Obi-Wan Kenobi character dropping in from another dimension to connect with Luke (Gowan).
Madonna became an 80s pop icon through sheer will and charisma.
In 1985 she summoned us to join her on the dance floor with the irresistible"Into The Groove", demanding your attention in what may just be her greatest song, pure pop that's both fluffy and forceful.
The stuttering synth and staccato bass drive the proceedings while Madonna's coming out party articulates the power of the groove' as 'music' is a 'revelation' and a 'sweet sensation'.
"Only when I’m dancing can I feel this free" reveals Madonna is in charge of her life.
"Tonight I wanna dance with someone else" is another powerful moment and a saucy invitation.
"Into The Groove" will also be remembered as the pivot when the underground dance music scene moved to the mainstream.
Inspired and influenced by 80s new wave and hip hop, electro and comedy rock. Debut album Flashbacks by Peach on a beach (Larry Peach) now available on streaming and in CD format.
