"Play That Rock'n'Roll" Ep 3: Top 5 Sell-Outs of the 1980s

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1) Heart changed WAY more than just adding synthesizers and hairspray. Lyrically, they took a big step down, and GONE was Nancy's hard-edge '70s style guitar. Which is a shame. Synth-y ballads were a dime-a-dozen in the '80s, and frankly Heart's don't really stand out.

I can see that.

The point is, that Heart, by their own admission, underwent a SEVERE change in style in order to stay musically relevant.

Along those lines, what was up with Grace Slick angrily declaring lyrics about being together forever were "bull$hit"? Hmm, bitter much? lol

It's interesting that you use the term "stay musically relevant." That actually seems like a good thing to me.

Frey / Johnson - Glenn Frey's look for the "Love the 21sr Century" video and promos is, frankly, insane.

Love In the 21st Century was the exception not the rule (thank goodness). I love Strange Weather but "bizarre bleach blonde-fake Elvis-pervy voyeur-justice of the freak" Glenn was one video only! I block that lame ick-fest out when listening to the song, which I enjoy.

Again, it's just a visual acting as a red herring to keep people from guessing my list. I put Don Johnson because everybody knew him as an actor, and then he was a one-hit wonder. Probably not what some people expected from him.

Red herrings like David Bowie? Effective because they might be your targets. Don Johnson? Not so much. I don't want to harp on it because you're right, it's not important - it just struck me as I watched the show.

Isn't "Sara" about the abortion that Stevie Nicks had? That's depressing to me.

Well, kinda... I can see why you'd find it depressing. Still, that wasn't much of a change from her prior work. She's often done dark material. Christine's material was also pretty much the same as in the past. Only Lindsey went "out there." It's often said that Tusk sounds like two different albums because Lindsey's material and the girls' material are so disparate.

And frankly, I find ANY song that features music from a marching band to be "retarded". lol

Just think of them as a backing band that happens to be wearing matching band outfits. Did you like it when the Mac did "Tusk" live at the concert you saw? No marching band in sight there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajh-mwr8tHA

(Separate the song from Lindsey's bizarre live antics when evaluating it!)

Even you admit that "Tusk" features a few not-quite-up-to-par songs!

Several of them were recorded in Lindsey's bathroom and sound half-finished with their simplistic, harsh-sounding drums and chords. Even his vocals are ragged in some parts. The song "Tusk" stands in sharp contrast to them, with its big sound and vocals. Although the sound effects are a bit odd, at least they are subtle. That's why I was so surprised you singled it out. When I think of sub-par Tusk songs, I think of "What Makes You Think You're the One" , "The Ledge", and "Not That Funny" - not to mention those are all extremely bitter and nasty diatribes against Stevie. But I digress.

If I were gonna make fun of the marching band, though, I'd use the clip from The Dance when they all run to the stage about halfway through the song. That does look kind of funny, especially when Stevie tries to "rock out" with band members on her tambourine and imitate their coordinated rotations towards the end. LOL!!! They sound terrific on "Don't Stop" though.

Now, regarding Holiday Road -- that bit was mostly a joke. It's not the worst song in the world, but it is silly. And fair game to be a bit of a punchline.

I get that you have to amp up the contempt for laughs. I've done that myself on occasion.

Holiday Special - Wow, I'm surprised you got that reference! Impressed too! Now, you couldn't pay me to sit through that whole thing, but I've seen bits and pieces and I knew I just had to mention that if I were talking about Jefferson Starship.

I am a Star Wars nerd and have sat through the whole thing out of a sense of completionist duty, but even the appearance of Harrison Ford could not salvage that travesty. Like I said, HEAVY drug use. The only tolerable part in it was the brief departure from the live-action crap fest to the cartoon introducing Boba Fett. I don't blame George Lucas for his efforts to wipe it from the collective memory of the American people. He's done a pretty good job, too. Only hardcores will get that reference now.

Starship - The only Starship song I truly don't like is Sara. But that's not the point. This list was not "bands that suck"

Come on, you know that you characterized their new sound as sucky in your show! But it is funnier to go that route, so I don't blame you.

Glad you like the captions and thanks for the comments! The reason I made this video was to stir up some discussion and I'm glad to see it worked!

I'm always happy to opine.

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An addendum:

I should add that the opinions above are just that - my own opinions. There are many Lindsey fans who believe the experimental songs from Tusk are his best work with Fleetwood Mac. Lindsey himself believes this, and in interviews has often bemoaned the fact that the vast majority of Fleetwood Mac fans weren't "ready" for it.

It's all subjective.

Again, Joe, let me say I really enjoyed watching these. I hope one day you make more. However, I also look forward to your B-movie roll out return, which makes me laugh every time!

[RamboIV]

...what was up with Grace Slick angrily declaring lyrics about being together forever were "bull$hit"? ... It's interesting that you use the term "stay musically relevant." That actually seems like a good thing to me.

...

Several of them were recorded in Lindsey's bathroom and sound half-finished with their simplistic, harsh-sounding drums and chords. Even his vocals are ragged in some parts. The song "Tusk" stands in sharp contrast to them, with its big sound and vocals. Although the sound effects are a bit odd, at least they are subtle. That's why I was so surprised you singled it out. When I think of sub-par Tusk songs, I think of "What Makes You Think You're the One" , "The Ledge", and "Not That Funny" - not to mention those are all extremely bitter and nasty diatribes against Stevie.

I get that you have to amp up the contempt for laughs. I've done that myself on occasion.

I am a Star Wars nerd and have sat through the whole thing out of a sense of completionist duty, but even the appearance of Harrison Ford could not salvage that travesty. Like I said, HEAVY drug use. The only tolerable part in it was the brief departure from the live-action crap fest to the cartoon introducing Boba Fett. I don't blame George Lucas for his efforts to wipe it from the collective memory of the American people. He's done a pretty good job, too. Only hardcores will get that reference now.

Come on, you know that you characterized their new sound as sucky in your show! But it is funnier to go that route, so I don't blame you.

I'm always happy to opine.

I'm never a fan of artists bashing their own work, but I also appreciate honesty. It's pretty obvious Slick isn't proud of her Starship work, as lyrically, it was much MUCH weaker than that of the Jefferson Airplane era. I think she's more interested in being thought-provoking than successful. And Starship DOES NOT reflect that. Now, I know I characterized Starship as "sucky", but I all I was really hoping to do was show that they were just worse that Jefferson Airplane / Jefferson Starship. I honestly believe that "White Rabbit", "Somebody to Love" and "Jane" are far better than any of Starship's work.

I mean, "We Built This City" is fun. No doubt. But it doesn't mean anything. And for me, "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" is just, well... a guilty, guilty pleasure.

Now, I've never been a fan of the song "Tusk", and that was before I knew about the marching band. In fact, I find the album Tusk to be Fleetwood Mac's weakest (excluding the Peter Green era), and that's why I am not as well versed when it comes to the more specific songs. In fact, "Sara" is the only one I can even stand... sometimes. The reason I felt it had a place on my list is probably because like a lot of Mac albums, half of it is, essentially, a Lindsey Buckingham solo project. And on Tusk, it isn't his better work. Now, I'm sure he whines that folks "don't get it" or whatever, but I don't think that's the artists place to say something like that. That's why Peter Gabriel's Genesis was never a pop act, because people like you and me "didn't get it", well - you saw that video of Gabriel -- what's there to get?? Saying your fans "don't get it" doesn't necessarily make it good.

I find it hilarious that George Lucas has been on this hunt to destroy every copy of the Holiday Special. But frankly, I feel the Star Wars prequels did far more harm to the series then that "film". Or is that another can of worms??