My plan.
- 2 records per week & at least 2 complete listens.
- A quick blog post for each, highlighting the important details and a quick background story.
- No rating scale - just an effort to expand my appreciation.
Album # 492
Album Title: TouchArtist: Eurythmics
Released: November, 1983
My age at release: 18
How familiar am I with it: Pretty well, not the deeper cuts.
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Right by Your Side
Great Lyric:
"Well in the morning
When our day begins
And it feels like cold cold steel
And when the sun comes up
It's like a new commotion"
(No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)
1983 was a pivotal year for me. I was 17/18 and had achieved a unique level of independence - I was a typical middle-class, suburban Canadian teenager who...
1983 was a pivotal year for me. I was 17/18 and had achieved a unique level of independence - I was a typical middle-class, suburban Canadian teenager who...
- had a driver's licence & regular access to a vehicle.
- had a lot of disposable income, because I had multiple jobs (some seasonal, some annual) and I still lived at home.
- only needed to do "okay" in school - because university applications we're at least a year (maybe more?) away.
- knew people who could buy beer...when I got carded trying.
It really is a sweet-pocket and I didn't thank my parents enough for letting me exist within it ... for a little longer than I should have.
The bonds of friendship are powerful at that age. They don't always last...but the stories sure do. I am lucky. I am still very close with two friends from those days. When we get together we can be insufferable. Our wives smile politely as we revisit familiar stories, some of which have, over time, moved from romantic recollection to dramatic hyperbole.
Another friend, with whom I have since lost contact, made a sudden move back to England during this year when his separated parents attempted to reconcile. It seemed he was gone forever, but it was only a few months. When he returned, in the Spring of 1984, he had been changed by the difficult experience. He never really was the same kid I had met near the start of high school.
His grief was somewhat assuaged by his passion for music and his new knowledge of "music from across the pond". I remember he was the first to introduce me to Eurythmics and the song Here Comes the Rain Again long before MuchMusic (Canada's MTV) was even a station and the video played in annoyingly heavy rotation.
At the time, this song possessed a revolutionary sound that made everyone immediately take notice... the thick, synthetic bass line, the strings and, of course, Annie Lennox' unbelievable voice. It was as if the Brits had created a new genre. We had heard Synth-Pop and New Wave and the New Romantic - this was different. Much like Lennox, it was a captivating contradiction ... drawing you in while still keeping you at a distance. On his podcast, Meyers compares her to David Bowie. I think there is a lot of truth in that... Lennox was androgynous yet feminine, powerful yet vulnerable, stylish yet unfashionable. It was singular and riveting.
It was fun to revisit this record. I know most of it fairly well and I know I had a copy on cassette at one time. As you might expect from this writing - it transported me back in time. I think I have represented that period faithfully ... although, I did earlier admit that I am increasingly becoming an unreliable narrator.
I chose the song Right by Your Side for my Spotify mix. Although it is easy to dismiss as "of it's time" with the 80's drums and synthy-hand-claps. I am a sucker for a great horn section and really like Dave Stewart's guitar playing on this one. The steel drums, trumpet flourishes and baritone saxophone make this a surprisingly optimistic departure on an album that is otherwise mournful and gloomy.
Give it a listen in your car to start your day - It'll do the trick!
His grief was somewhat assuaged by his passion for music and his new knowledge of "music from across the pond". I remember he was the first to introduce me to Eurythmics and the song Here Comes the Rain Again long before MuchMusic (Canada's MTV) was even a station and the video played in annoyingly heavy rotation.
At the time, this song possessed a revolutionary sound that made everyone immediately take notice... the thick, synthetic bass line, the strings and, of course, Annie Lennox' unbelievable voice. It was as if the Brits had created a new genre. We had heard Synth-Pop and New Wave and the New Romantic - this was different. Much like Lennox, it was a captivating contradiction ... drawing you in while still keeping you at a distance. On his podcast, Meyers compares her to David Bowie. I think there is a lot of truth in that... Lennox was androgynous yet feminine, powerful yet vulnerable, stylish yet unfashionable. It was singular and riveting.
It was fun to revisit this record. I know most of it fairly well and I know I had a copy on cassette at one time. As you might expect from this writing - it transported me back in time. I think I have represented that period faithfully ... although, I did earlier admit that I am increasingly becoming an unreliable narrator.
I chose the song Right by Your Side for my Spotify mix. Although it is easy to dismiss as "of it's time" with the 80's drums and synthy-hand-claps. I am a sucker for a great horn section and really like Dave Stewart's guitar playing on this one. The steel drums, trumpet flourishes and baritone saxophone make this a surprisingly optimistic departure on an album that is otherwise mournful and gloomy.
Give it a listen in your car to start your day - It'll do the trick!
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