DJ

It’s been over four decades since its heyday but I still enjoy disco music very much. There’s a lot of bad disco out there, but there’s also some great disco that never saw the light of day back in the day.

Originally recorded in 1979 but shelved until the late 1990s, here’s an extended remix of Karen Carpenter’s solo disco track, “My Body Keeps Changing My Mind”.

I honestly don’t remember if I’ve posted this video before. I can’t get this cover version of Michael Gray’s “The Weekend” out of my head, so I’m sharing again today.

We first hear “The Weekend” when in Ireland back in 2008. I loved the track then and this cover version is hot! I love these collaborations over video where everyone does their part and then it’s putting together in post production.

Enjoy!

I can’t believe it’s been 39 years. I can easily remember my sister playing this song on the GE Wildcat record player that had made its way to her bedroom from the family room. I’d dance to this song in my room and then end up dancing with my sister in her room.

When I was a club DJ, late in the night I’d start playing “lost” tracks when the crowd was half drunk. They’d love hearing songs they hadn’t heard in years.

But in 2021 it’s been a LOT of years. From 1982, here’s Grammy award winning Melissa Manchester with “You Should Hear How She Talks About You”. (I still think music from the 80s is much better than what we have in commercial pop music today).

Prior to the return of ABBA earlier this month, the closest we could get to new ABBA song was from Agnetha Faltskog’s 2013 album “A”. Though it wasn’t really promoted in the states, a few of the tracks did fairly well in Europe.

From 2013, here’s “Dance Your Pain Away” by Agnetha Faltskog.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/JBboaz9Jgqo

I’ve been trying really hard to find the good things going on in the world. This is not an easy thing to do. The news media thrives on negativity, and with Trump out of office they’re doing everything they can to sensationalism any glimmer of bad news into something outrageous to build ratings and ad revenue.

It’s not easy to blog about the happy when the world is filled with so much unhappy. So, as a distraction, here’s Mr. Mister from 1985 and a performance of “Kyrie”.

There’s a ton of buzz about this ABBA Voyage coming out later this week. We know we’ll get some new music and maybe a concert with some holograms. I’m really excited to hear one of my favorite groups again. I’ve always loved ABBA and the idea of them releasing new music after nearly 40 years is a bright spot in a desperately bleak century.

As a refresher, here’s the last song ABBA released before their “temporary hiatus”. From 1982, it’s “Under Attack”.

I will always consider being a teenager in the 1980s as one of the greatest gifts to my life. This song resonates with me in a way few songs do, and I’ve always loved the simplicity of the music video. Many bad things happened in the 1980s, yes, but so many good things happened as well.

I really miss music like this. Here’s Joe Jackson with “Steppin’ Out”.

I was eight years old when the Starland Vocal Band released “Afternoon Delight”. Of course I had no idea the song was about sex. At the time, my mom and her friend Janice would take us to a diner uptown called “Donna’s Restaurant” in the morning. I think Janice was seeing a guy from the telephone company or something and they’d stop out there before fixing the local dial tone. Donna, the owner of Donna’s Restaurant, and a big bleached beehive bouffant type hairdo. I went to school with her daughters. This song was on the jukebox and we’d play the song while we drank hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. From the sugar and such we’d then lick the ceilings before Mom paid Donna (who was still using a hand cranked cash register) and then we’d head home and run around the cow pasture that surrounded our mobile home.

Good times.

It’s funny, even though it’s been 45 years and I know the song is about sex I still think about hot chocolate and whipped cream when I hear this song.

Maybe that’s about sex too.

I have always been a fan of Womack & Womack’s track “Teardrops”. It came to prominence when I lived in Eastern Massachusetts in the late 1980s. I’ve always loved the musicality of the song.

I stumbled across this remake last week and was blown away by how much the musicians seem to love their craft. This is an amazing remake. I love to watch musicians doing what they love.