BIG Q’S CASSETTE CLASSIC
OGDEN EDSL – DEAD PUPPIES
If you’ve ever wondered to yourself…”how boring is it in Nebraska”. Pretty dang boring I’d guess. After all, you’d have to be bored to write a song about dead puppies.
The group was called Ogden Edsl, from Omaha, Nebraska. I first heard about them from Dr. Demento, Read more
Chris De Burgh: HEAD & THE HEART
Most people know Chris DeBurgh from the “Lady in Red”, which was a fine song, but I was a fan far earlier. He had a hit in 1982 called “Don’t Pay the Ferryman”. I played the hell out of it because it too is a Cassette Classic, but I want to focus on a song that came out a few years later.
The album was Chris’s 7th, and its call “Man on the Line”. I learned about it from one of my roommates in college. Read more…
CHILLIWACK: WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN I’M GONE
Growing up next to another country it’s no surprise that I’ve had a lot of “favorite” songs from Canadian artists. Back in 1982 it was the band Chilliwack that caught my ear.
They had a catchy hit called “Whatcha Gonna Do When I’m Gone”. It was about a guy who wondered what his girlfriend did when he went out on tour with his band.
It drove people crazy. You either loved it, or loathed it, no in-between. I saw two women sing it together while they undressed, so, yea, it’ll always hold a special place in my imagination. Read More
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BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC-Aqua
BARBIE GIRL
The group Aqua came out with the song “Barbie Girl”. They imagined if Barbie were real and how she would feel. From Ken pulling up asking if she wants to go for a ride, or her reveling in her world of plastic. Go ahead and brush her hair, undress her anywhere. You can touch, you can play, as long as you say I’m always yours.
It drove people crazy. You either loved it, or loathed it, no in-between. I saw two women sing it together while they undressed, so, yea, it’ll always hold a special place in my imagination. Read More
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BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC-SAMANTHA FOX
TOUCH ME(I WANT YOUR BODY)
It reached number 4 on the charts on Valentines Day 1987, which seems fitting, and is one of my Cassette Classics, for more than one reason. Samantha Fox, “TOUCH ME (I WANT YOUR BODY) Read more
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BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC-DANNY HUTTON HITTERS
“WOULDN’T IT BE GOOD”
1986’s Pretty in Pink was an amazing movie to me growing up. I really identified with Ducky, the character that women instantly put in the “friend zone”, even though he was a much better person than the pretty boy that women have been pre-programmed to “want” since birth. Of course, since a movie is made to make money, you can’t have the female pick the good guy, she has to pick the pretty prick. Personally, I think the movie would have been better if they bucked the typical trend, but the movie would’ve still been outshined by the music. Read more
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BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC -Tommy Conwell “I’m Not Your Man”
The year was 1988. The first George Bush was elected President, I graduated from Broadcasting School and got my first job. Michael Jackson farted out the 5th number one song from his LP Bad, called “Dirty Diana” and we all barfed in our mouths a little bit. Steve Winwood’s “Roll With It” was the biggest song of the year, but my favorite number one song has been lost to time and dead air. Who remembers Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumbler’s? Read More
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BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC -Martika “Toy Soldier”
As for music, a weird little song from a cute girl took over the airwaves. Martika, “Toy Soldier” had a poppy sound, but a dark undertone. That combination, along with the good looks of the artist launch the song all the way to the top of the charts. It’s arguably one of the best “one hit wonders” to ever hit the airwaves, and it’s Big Q Cassette Classic. Line em’ up, knock em’ down. It’s time to play with your Toy Soldiers”. Read More
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BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC – KIM MITCHELL “Go For a Soda”
Growing up in northern North Dakota we were able to pick up a lot of Canadian radio stations. One of the many great songs we heard that folks’ down south missed out on was Kim Mitchell’s “Go for a Soda”.
Now, being a fat man, one of my favorite sugar highs was pop, or soda. So here was a song saying i should go get a pop. The meaning itself was probably more “deep” than that, but in 1984, i was as far from “deep” as a teenager could get. Read More
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BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC – Tiffany “I Think We’re Alone Now”
She was called Tiffany, and the song was a remake called “I think we’re alone now”. It was hit for Tommy James and the Shondells in early 1967, and now this young girl was going around the malls in America performing it. Read more
BIG Q CASSETTE CLASSIC – PSEUDO ECHO “Living in a Dream”
The sound of Psuedo Echo wasn’t distinctive. It had guitars and drums, but then it also had that horrible 80s synth sound, and on occasion, synth drums. “Living in a Dream” also had horns. In my jumbled up music taste at the time it was perfect for me, but tastes change. Click play and listen to the whole story of “living In a Dream”
INXS
Don’t Change
The band exploded with the LP “Listen Like Thieves”, then went nuclear with the follow up “Kick”, but it all started with “Don’t Change”.
“Listen like Thieves” by INXS. I just couldn’t believe that every song was great. That was rare. Back then bands would try for two maybe three songs that they would released as singles, then take a dump on the rest of the album. But I didn’t hear a song I didn’t like, so I bought it the cassette.
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PETER SCHILLING
MAJOR TOM (I’M COMING HOME)
Peter Schilling, a German musician whose songs often feature science-fiction themes. Is best-known for his 1983 hit single “Major Tom (Coming Home)”.
It was unofficially based on the “Major Tom” character from David Bowie’s 1969 classic “Space Oddity”. It’s been used in plenty of mainstream media, including the movie “Atomic Blonde”, and T.V. shows “The Americans”, and well as the Netflix hit “The Umbrella Academy”.
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Big Q Cassette Classic this week is from Godely & Creme with Cry
Kevin Godely & Lol Creme were in the band 10 CC. When they left, they started putting out music and videos together. They were so good at the video aspect they ended up putting out videos for a lot other artist, including Duran Duran, Yes, The Police, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Wang Chung.
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The Big Q Cassette Classic this week comes from a Chicago based band you might not have heard about. They’re call The Insiders. They had one hit that peaked at #8 back in 1987. It was called “Ghost on the Beach” from the album of the same name.
Click play to hear the story and see the videos from Ghost on the Beach.
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The Big Q Cassette Classic this week comes from a Chicago based band you might not have heard about. They’re call The Insiders. They had one hit that peaked at #8 back in 1987. It was called “Ghost on the Beach” from the album of the same name.
Click play to hear the story and see the videos from Ghost on the Beach.