KBCO, 11/28/07: 1980

[mshray]

"You're a treMENdous slouch!".

Least necessary: Blondie.

yes but it was a nice segue from the Chevy Chase one-liner into the rimshots at the beginning of "Tide Is High".  

Did you ever stop to think that between this & "Rapture", Blondie had arguably the first Billboard #1 hits in both the Reggae AND Rap genres?  Kind of mindbending.

[RGMike]

"You're a treMENdous slouch!".

Least necessary: Blondie.

yes but it was a nice segue from the Chevy Chase one-liner into the rimshots at the beginning of "Tide Is High".  

Did you ever stop to think that between this & "Rapture", Blondie had arguably the first Billboard #1 hits in both the Reggae AND Rap genres?  Kind of mindbending.

mindbending and a bit sad, actually.  And if I'm not mistaken, "Heart of Glass" -- a blatant Donna Summer imitation -- was a bigger hit than anything Donna had had up to that point (I have to check Whitburn on that, tho').

[Gazoo]

"You're a treMENdous slouch!".

Least necessary: Blondie.

yes but it was a nice segue from the Chevy Chase one-liner into the rimshots at the beginning of "Tide Is High". 

Did you ever stop to think that between this & "Rapture", Blondie had arguably the first Billboard #1 hits in both the Reggae AND Rap genres?  Kind of mindbending.

Depends on whether you include "I Can See Clearly Now" or "I Shot the Sheriff."  But I agree with your observation.

Missed most of the set due to family conversations - not great - but enjoyed hearing everything here, even the "Too Close for Comfort" clip.  Whither Jm J.?  Still in jail weaning himself off meth?

[urth]

"Biko" is a guilty displeasure for me.  It's a noble song - I just don't like it aesthetically.

wow, really?  I guess I think you should feel guilty about that then.    I think it's some of Gabriel's best lyrics for one thing.

Chain reaction:  Gabriel writes "Biko" and when Little Steven hears it he is moved to visit SA, where he has Van Zandt relatives who are firm believers in Apartheid, to see for himself.  Decides to arganize the Artists United Against Apartheid & produces the album Sun City.  Bono appears on it & while recording in NYC, he hangs with Mick & Keith, who are there for moral support but schedule-wise can't do a song.  Mick & Keith expose Bono to American roots blues for the first time in an all-night record playing and sitting on the floor jamming session, and Bono writes "Silver and Gold" the next day, and it gets on the Sun City album.  Also starts talking politics with Bruce.  U2 decide to take a year off to support Amnesty International & organize concerts around the globe, featuring Bruce, Gabriel & Sting (which memorably includes Sting doing "Gueca Solo" in Mendoza, Argentina, with about half the audience being Chileans). Tour culminates in a US date, simulcast on MTV, featuring a Police reunion, in which Gabriel closes the show with "Biko".  At the end of the song the performers all walk off stage one by one, with the crowd singing "oh oh Biko, becau-au-ause Biko", until it's just the drummer, and then he hits those 2 bullet shots off the snare and the lights go down.

The impact all this had on the anti-apartheid movement is literally immeasurable, but profound.

Wow I never knew any of that -- thanks! One of the most interesting things I've ever learned on this board, which is saying something!

Indeed, I kind of figured there was some sort of connection between Biko and the Amnesty International tours of the mid-80s, but I never had all the pieces laid out like that before.  So the conclusion could possibly be drawn that Nelson Mandela was released from prison because Peter Gabriel wrote a song about Steven Biko? Thanks for filling in the blanks.

[mshray]

Indeed, I kind of figured there was some sort of connection between Biko and the Amnesty International tours of the mid-80s, but I never had all the pieces laid out like that before.  So the conclusion could possibly be drawn that Nelson Mandela was released from prison because Peter Gabriel wrote a song about Steven Biko? Thanks for filling in the blanks.

The conclusion can certainly be drawn that he was released in 1994, instead of later, because Peter Gabriel wrote a song about Steven Biko. 

If you want to really stretch it out, you could argue that the reason South Africa didn't degenerate into a full-blown Civil War (a la Iraq over the last couple years) - whites versus blacks, Anlgo-speakers vs. Afrikaaners, Zulu vs. Xhosa - starts with that song.

[urth]

Anyone else gotten that "a post occurred while you were typing" message?  I find it a tad annoying.

2nd-least-necessary: John

there's also a "three posts occurred while you were reading" message.  Annoying but ignorable, methinks.

Dunno about that--I think during the hours when we're all commenting on a currently airing set, it's going to be the rule more than the exception. Any way to turn that off, Geoff?

Also, the way it kicks you back to the dashboard of a given forum once you've hit "post" is going to take a little getting used to.