There’s something perpetually enjoyable about Hall and Oates, and I’m not just talking about the Oatestache. The duo is the only example of a group that turned from soft-rock balladry to the emerging New Wave movement and became MORE popular. That may be because there’s little distance to cover between “Rich Girl” and “Adult Education,” but it’s more likely that they were simply good at riding trends and making music a lot of people could like.
X-Static serves as the demarcation between the old and new H&O. “Wait for Me” is the precise moment of their sonic shift. It’s also the group’s best song and in many ways, their most quintessential. Harmonies prevail over restrained electric guitars and organ synths. There’s cowbell and the droning, machine-precise drums. It’s elegant in simplicity, which more than any tangible defines the Hall and Oates appeal. While the group’s simplicity always kept them from taking legitimate artistic strides, you never get the sense they wanted to take artistic strides in the first place. Not everyone in 1979 could release a Tusk or London Calling. But as they did for about ten years, Hall & Oates proved that you didn’t have to release a juggernaut to create appealing songs.
Some days, you just don’t have the energy or creativity to come up with a witty, outlandish way to theme a mixtape. Such is the case today, and because of my indifferent attitude, the Random Ass Grab Bag has been born.
Too much laziness and sloth leads to terrible things however, so it’s important to remember what can happen if you fall too far.
“Alright, alright, alright.”
Hopefully, this will be the first of many random ass grab bags. And just because the order is random, and they have almost nothing in common, I promise they’re all worth listening to.
1. “Policy of Trust”
Tanlines, Settings
Tanlines should be enjoyed with a mint julep. Or a Capri Sun. Really, any kind of spiked juice box will do. Clearly the guy on the album cover, wearing a shrub headdress of some variety, agrees with that.
Despite having a good groove and rhythm, at no point is a policy of trust discussed. A Policy of Truth is discussed during the chorus. Vague Depeche Mode tribute, or lazy songwriting?
You decide.
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2. “Loverboy”
Billy Ocean, Suddenly
It was only a matter of time before it came to this.
Quintessential Billy. Honestly, I don’t know if this song was on a soundtrack of a really terrible sci-fi movie, or the director got a wild hair up his ass and decided to turn a song about wanting to be a girls loverboy into a video featuring medieval horses, monsters, and what can only be described as the most epic fade-out shot in music video history. A lizard fist pump. And tell me that lizard isn’t Bossk from Star Wars.
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3. “I Want You Back”
Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo feat. Lindsey Buckingham, I’m Not Here
In an era where seemingly everything is available on for download to your phone, it seems utterly absurd that albums are out of print. The cost of releasing an album, especially if done strictly online, can’t be a serious issue.
Why then is an album like Mick Fleetwood’s I’m Not Here only available in used record stores? Fleetwood’s solo projects have ran the gambit from African-styles to blues, jazz and this rootsy traditional pop-rock. Lindsey Buckingham provides vocals, and as always, makes the song the record’s most memorable. Also highlighting Mac-member Christine McVie, George Hawkins, and Billy Burnette (who with Rick Vito would “replace” Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac in 1987,) I’m Not Me remains a surprisingly tolerable record, and it’s a shame that it’s difficult to find.
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4. “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”
Pet Shop Boys, Actually
There’s a 99-101 percent chance this song will be back soon. I’ve been wanting to do a list of great New Wave songs with atrocious music videos since I accidentally watched Simple Minds’ “All The Things She Said.” Pet Shop Boys surprised me with this video. They’re arguably the most style-conscious group of Brits to follow Roxy Music. Their album covers are bangin’ and they consistently make good dance music. Yet, this catchy, great song is one of the rare cases where my impression of a song is inextricably tainted by its music video.
You can blame Dusty Springfield for that. It’s not her singing. Decades into her career, she still had the pipes. It’s just the dancing. And the hair. And the dancing. And the hair. With all the slow motion ballerinas and pastel paint, the video feels like walking through a J.C. Penney store in 1987. Or a Goodwill in 2011. Anyway, good song. Just don’t watch the video.
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5. “Endtapes”
The Joy Formidable, Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 Soundtrack
Hate the Twilight movies all you want. You can hate the books too. But you can’t argue that the films have consistently produced great soundtracks. Basically, the opposite scenario that faced the Transformers live-action franchise.
The Joy Formidable were the best new band this year. Period. They are 2011′s best example of traditional face-meltage. The guitars are everywhere, the drums beg for mercy. Songs like “Whirring,” and “Austere” held indie radio hostage through the summer and were a nice contrast to groups like Washed Out.
You can’t call “Endtapes” a departure from anything else the band has released. In fact, it’s remarkably similar (and often superior) to the songs found on debut The Big Roar. It packs the same punch, and doesn’t get ambitious. Which is exactly what people who create soundtracks want from the bands they include.
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6. “Last Christmas”
Wham!, Last Christmas
It’s always cute to watch music videos where George Michael awkwardly pines over a woman during an L.L. Bean commercial. Honestly though, this is probably the best Christmas song that came out of the eighties. It’s also a good example how during that decade, determining where a woman’s haircut ends and a man’s begins. Kudos to George Michael for having the best hair (duh.)
I wonder what Andy Williams thought when/if he saw this.
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7. “The Him”
New Order, Movement
Movement, the first album from New Order, wasn’t the first album for anyone in the band. It was just the first without Ian Curtis. Curtis’ 1980 suicide effectively ended Joy Division, paving the way for the remaining members of the band (and Gillian Gilbert) to form New Order. New Order would go on to infuse more dance and pop elements into the Joy Division formula, eventually becoming something altogether different. Movement is the bridge between “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and “Blue Monday.”
Elements from Joy Division hang around like ghosts, and “The Him” (along with “I.C.B.”) provide the most haunting references to Curtis. For me, the last two minutes of the song sounds like a band grieving through instrumentation.
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8. “Love Me Like You Used To”
Class Actress, Rapproacher
Chalk one up for Class Actress. Their full-length debut joins the ranks of Carly Simon’s Playing Possum as an album cover to be hung on a wall. You know, because its … artsy … and stuff… The difference between the two is that I actually listen to Rapproacher, and do so often.
With Elizabeth Harper’s talents behind a keyboard and microphone, it’s hard to disregard the album’s retro-chic staying power.
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9. “1234″ (Van She Remix)
Feist, The Reminder (Deluxe Edition)
Leslie Feist’s cameo in The Muppets was one of the film’s more obscure, especially considering the film’s target audience. It was my favorite though, and seeing her as a citizen of Smalltown was as natural as Kermit and Miss Piggy mending their burned bridge.
I was disappointed by Metals. Mostly because it wasn’t a Reminder, Part II. I’m sure I’ll warm up by 2014, but for now, I’ll settle for microwaved remixes.
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10. “The Cause of Labour is the Hope of the World”
Johann Johannsson, The Miners’ Hymns
There’s something eternally wonderful about watching film from the turn of the century. It moves a little quicker. It’s grainy and black and white, and moves like a Charlie Chaplin smile. It’s the stuff that makes Apple commercials so damn moving.
Add the magical orchestral work of Johann Johannsson on top, and the film achieves a new level of grace. Released this year, The Miners’ Hymns is both score and film, tracing the social history of miners in Durham, England. As a celebration of an industry long since deceased, the score is appropriately filled with bittersweet nostalgia. Johannsson intersperses his verses with brass sections, and the entire enterprise has the tinge of an orchestral Beirut album.
Johannsson has a solid track record (And in the Endless Pause There Came the Sound of Bees, “The Sun’s Gone Dim and the Sky’s Turned Black”) and The Miners’ Hymns only add to his impressive catalogue. He’s no Copeland, but this score admirably takes inspiration from “Fanfare for the Common Man.”
There’s something perpetually enjoyable about Hall and Oates, and I’m not just talking about the Oatestache. The duo is the only example of a group that turned from soft-rock balladry to the emerging New Wave movement and became MORE popular. That may be because there’s little distance to cover between “Rich Girl” and “Adult Education,” but it’s more likely that they were simply good at riding trends and making music a lot of people could like.
Tanlines should be enjoyed with a mint julep. Or a Capri Sun. Really, any kind of spiked juice box will do. Clearly the guy on the album cover, wearing a shrub headdress of some variety, agrees with that.
Hate the Twilight movies all you want. You can hate the books too. But you can’t argue that the films have consistently produced great soundtracks. Basically, the opposite scenario that faced the Transformers live-action franchise.
Movement, the first album from New Order, wasn’t the first album for anyone in the band. It was just the first without Ian Curtis. Curtis’ 1980 suicide effectively ended Joy Division, paving the way for the remaining members of the band (and Gillian Gilbert) to form New Order. New Order would go on to infuse more dance and pop elements into the Joy Division formula, eventually becoming something altogether different. Movement is the bridge between “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and “Blue Monday.”
Chalk one up for Class Actress. Their full-length debut joins the ranks of Carly Simon’s 
Leslie Feist’s cameo in The Muppets was one of the film’s more obscure, especially considering the film’s target audience. It was my favorite though, and seeing her as a citizen of Smalltown was as natural as Kermit and Miss Piggy mending their burned bridge.
There’s something eternally wonderful about watching film from the turn of the century. It moves a little quicker. It’s grainy and black and white, and moves like a Charlie Chaplin smile. It’s the stuff that makes Apple commercials 
