Music on TV

[RGMike]

And here's Lace: total Vanity/Appollonia knock-offs, right down to the outfits. "My Love is Deep", pretty much their only hit, and it never got around to charting pop.

[RGMike]

Meant to mention this last week, but TCM is doing a Sinatra salute all month (10th anniv of his death). Besides a bunch of films, they're showing his "A Man & His Music" specials from the mid-'60s. Tonite it's "AM&HM Pt 2", featuring daughter Nancy, a vision in pink knee-high leather boots, covering Cher's "Bang Bang", "On Broadway", and (in a duet with dad) "Downtown".  Fab stuff -- they're repeating it at 8pm tonite.

[RGMike]

it's a Classic Soul Train from early '82: Ray Parker Jr (who will surely do "The Other Woman") and Sister Sledge (whose mid-charting remake of "My Guy" was their only record of note at the time).

But the dancers are groovin' to D-Train's fab "You're the One for Me", which never charted pop but was one of the biggest records of the year on NYC urban formats.

[RGMike]

it's a Classic Soul Train from early '82: Ray Parker Jr (who will surely do "The Other Woman") and Sister Sledge (whose mid-charting remake of "My Guy" was their only record of note at the time).

Ah, but the "Soul Train History Book" flashback to '73 tops 'em all: Smooth Smokey, pre-frozen gumbo, with "Baby Come Close".

[RGMike]

I'm watching an ep of Futurama that's new to me -- Beck, spoofing himself at the "Monsters of Vaguely Folkish Alterna-Rock" concert.

"Bender, that was the best 40-minute washboard solo I've ever heard"

[RGMike]

A Classic Soul Train from the spring of '84. The Dazz Band and Run DMC promised, but the first record the dancers are groovin' to is "Lovelite" by O'Bryan:



who was famously rumored to be Don Cornelius's down-low boy-toy (!) The song actually reached #1 on the R&B chart.

[RGMike]

Sadly, by '84 the Soul Train '70s Flashback clip had been replaced by a current video. And bizarrely, this week's vid is Huey Lewis's "Heart of Rock'n'Roll" (!)

[RGMike]

Fred Schneider, on "The Daily Show", sing-reading excerpts from Scott McClellan's book to the tune of "Love Shack". Hilarious.

[RGMike]

A late-summer/early fall '82 Classic Soul Train. Vanity 6 seductively synching "Nasty Girl", with a post-"MammaJamma" Carl Carlton yet to come. And the dancers were gyrating to a young Janet Jackson ("Young Love") and OHW Bobby Nunn's "She's Just a Groupie" -- he's a Rick James sideman doing a creditable RJ imitation, on Motown. Not sure if Rick wrote and/or produced it, but it sure sounds like it.

[RGMike]

The "Soul Train History Book" opens to a 1978 clip of Frankie Valli doing "Grease" (!?!)

Then Carl Carlton appears to do a disco-synth cover of "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" -- don't remember this at all.

[RGMike]

VH-1 Soul is showing hour-long blocks of Prince videos this weekend. They appear to be in chronological order; this hour began with the Batman stuff: "BatDance", "Partyman", "Scandalous"...  sadly, no "Arms of Orion", but instead here's the unjustly forgotten "Thieves in the Temple".

[RGMike]

Oh. My. F---ing. GAWD!  A Classic Soul Train from 1980 features Yellow Magic Orchestra, performing their delightfully wacky synth-oriented cover of "Tighten Up"! Haven't heard this in ages; a big "turntable hit" on NY radio at the time, as well a significant club record. Ryuichi Sakamoto in his pre soundtrack-scoring days. Amazing that they got booked on this show. Highlight of my weekend.

Good Heavens, Mr Sakamoto!

[RGMike]

Also on the Train: a post-TOP Lenny Williams, doing a very nice cover of "Oooh Child" that's new to me, tho' it apparently charted in '80. Followed by more YMO, doing an instrumental that doesn't sound familiar.

[Lightnin' Rod]

Oh. My. F---ing. GAWD!  A Classic Soul Train from 1980 features Yellow Magic Orchestra, performing their delightfully wacky synth-oriented cover of "Tighten Up"! Haven't heard this in ages; a big "turntable hit" on NY radio at the time, as well a significant club record. Ryuichi Sakamoto in his pre soundtrack-scoring days. Amazing that they got booked on this show. Highlight of my weekend.

Good Heavens, Mr Sakamoto!

Was flippin' through channels and caught the wrap-up of this.  I don't remember YMO at all, and the bit of "Tighten Up" I saw was a WTF moment if ever there was one.

[Gazoo]

Oh. My. F---ing. GAWD!  A Classic Soul Train from 1980 features Yellow Magic Orchestra, performing their delightfully wacky synth-oriented cover of "Tighten Up"! Haven't heard this in ages; a big "turntable hit" on NY radio at the time, as well a significant club record. Ryuichi Sakamoto in his pre soundtrack-scoring days. Amazing that they got booked on this show. Highlight of my weekend.

Good Heavens, Mr Sakamoto!

Was flippin' through channels and caught the wrap-up of this.  I don't remember YMO at all, and the bit of "Tighten Up" I saw was a WTF moment if ever there was one.

The full clip's on YouTube, for those who missed and are curious.