Sofa Pizza Songs

ZZ Top: Doubleback

ZZ Top is a rare band for the following achievements:

1. They attract a huge audience playing songs undistinguishable from one another.
2. They went techno during the 80s yet the fans still love them.

AC/DC is known for No.1, and Kiss for No.2. But do we know a band that did both?
Doubleback, soundtrack of Back to the Future III, is aptly titled: if you go back and come back again (double back), everything remains the same. The video says it loud: sunglasses, girls in hot pants, and synthesized guitar sound. The same old ZZ Top.

Staple song: Tush / Sleeping Bag (If you picked the latter, you’re old.)
P.S. Frank Beard, the drummer, is the only ZZ Top with no beard.

Ramones: Pet Sematary

Despite having one of the biggest groups of cult followers in the history of rock, the Ramones lacked the commercial success to match their fame. Or the band members thought so. Probably that’s why they agreed to sell out by joining a soundtrack of…a B-class horror movie? The catchy song pushed them to the…same level as before. That’s the way.
If you haven’t seen the movie, check it out. It is one of the better Stephen King adaptations; not at the height of Shawshank Redemption, but surely beats xxxx (put whatever title you want here).

Staple song: I Wanna Be Sedated   Shut up, I like this song. Also, the video clip is cool.

Contraband: All the Way to Memphis

Session bands are common, but none seemed as unbalanced as Contraband. A versatile drummer at the height of his career (Bobby Blotzer from Ratt), a bassist in an all-chick metal band (Share Pederson from Vixen), a guitar-god (Michael Schenker), a former partner of Axel Rose (Tracii Guns from L.A. Guns; now you know from where the “Guns” part of that famous band came), and a…singer (Richard Black from Shark Island—what’s that?) They should have been called Contra(diction)band. The song itself is not bad.

Staple song: This is how you should properly assemble a session group. Smoke On The Water - Rock Aid Armenia: Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Brian May (Queen), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), and more. (But what is Bryan Adams doing here?)

John Parr: Restless Heart

Surprise, surprise. John Parr sang not one but two movie songs. How have I missed this gem after all these years listening to 80s songs? (Your teenage songs dictate your life. We all need to get used to it.) Well, here it is. Enjoy the curly perm, flight jacket, fake guitar, glimpse of a young Schwarzenegger, and an American flag… Watch how he goes into a 360-degree roll (1:08)…The Running Man.

Staple song: Here you go…if there is one film that made everybody think I wish my school days were like that, no, they must have been like that, it is this film.

Buggles: I Have a Camera

It is ironic that a band comprised of two geeks is remembered as the pioneer of the visual era by the slogan “Video killed the radio star.” Judging by their looks, they could have made their names in the radio days, when they could hide behind the microphone. For some reason, their music video became hugely successful after it was chosen as the very first video for MTV network. In the end, they proved that looks did NOT matter much. Well, that explains the proliferation of fashion atrocities during the 80s: afro jerry curl, headbands, leg warmers, exploding blondes. (I did two of them. I won’t say which.)

Staple song: You don’t know? You’re lucky.

Asia: Go

I know you have been waiting for this moment. John Wetton, who has gone through many progressive rock bands such as King Crimson and Roxy Music, became disillusioned by the limited commercial appeal in his musical field and decided to make money and become a pop star. Also I guess the total lack of appeal to females might have helped: have you heard of any woman who listens to Rush? He called together fellow we-want-fame-progressive rockers Steve Howe and Carl Palmer, focused on the group’s logo to hide their age and non-photogenic looks, and labeled themselves as a “supergroup” which exactly scared girls away and invited geeks and virgins (male). By the time their third album, Astra (which included the featured song), came out, they tried to re-educate themselves and their fans by wearing Miami Vice fashion (white suits + tees) but it was a tad too late.

Staple song: Heat of the Moment

The Hooters: 500 Miles

The Hooters is one of the big mysteries among the numerous 80s bands. They never relied on campy synthesizers, nor rainbow-colored costumes. They produced melodious songs with a traditional usage of slide guitars, as clearly heard in this song. But they still went down. The Hooters poses a serious challenge to the “Fashion killed the 80s stars” theory. Was making a single out of a cover version of a well-known song a sign of death? Watch out, Hollywood.

Staple song: Johnny B

Klaus Badelt: Eloi

Sometimes a group of top-notch professionals deliver a turkey film so much more Turkish than a real turkey. 2003’s The Time Machine is one of those examples: great actors (Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons), great special effects, great original story (H.G. Wells), and a legendary movie composer - Klaus Badelt. The problem was they hired Simon Wells as the director, presumably because he is a direct descendent of H.G. Wells. Mr. Wells had a nervous breakdown from the monumental pressure during the shoot, and it shows. There is a limit to how much suspense we as an audience can take during a movie; “This can’t be real” is what you’ll be whispering to each other if you watch this movie, and not because of the special effects. Oh, but the song is great. Hail Badelt!

Staple song: Pirates of the Caribbean

Michael Schenker Group: Dancer

The “Rock You Like a Hurricane” Scorpions was not the only German rock group in the 80s. Michael Schenker, the younger brother of Scorpions’ guitarist Rudolph Schenker, was, with his Michael Schenker Group (MSG), more popular than the Scorpions in Japan. This may be more  evidence that everybody is a “brother” in the world of rock. Although touted as a god by guitar kids, Michael Schenker knew he wouldn’t reach the heights by appealing to just core fans. In 1982 he attempted to break into the mainstream by hiring ex-Rainbow vocalist Graham Bonnet and featuring a pseudo-pop song. (The singer in the video is not the original singer Graham Bonnet, who was fired after getting drunk on stage and performing a shouting match with the audience.)

Staple song: Anytime (never heard of it? It’s okay.)

John O’Banion: Legend of Eight Samurai

During the 80s, hiring a Western singer for a movie’s title song was in vogue for Japanese big-budget, special-effects movies, a tradition that has been maintained in the world of advertisement to this day (check out the wonderful collection of movie stars selling out in Japanese commercials). This song was the title song of the, er…Legend of Eight Samurai, featuring young Toshiyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai). It is also one of the 10,000 favorite films of Quentin Tarantino. This song still has a strong following throughout Japan and South-East Asia (I heard it no less than 10 times in the five years I have been in Taiwan. Each time, I stopped whatever I was doing and listened to the end).

Staple song: I Don’t Want to Lose Your Love

Christine McVie: Got a Hold on Me

Nearly all the solo activities of Fleetwood Mac members are associated with Stevie Nicks because of her many hit songs, gossip-colored lifestyle, and charismatic stage performance; she is one of the few artists who performed better on the stage than in the studio. But the other female Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie, also got her solo fever and enjoyed modest success. Unlike Stevie Nicks who presented a very distinctive musical style in her solo activities, Christine McVie, at least in this song, maintains a tone similar to that of Fleetwood Mac. Maybe that is the reason she did not pursue a solo career too much: the group might have satisfied all her creative needs.

Staple song: Little Lies (in their 80s: Christine McVie serves as the lead singer)

Glenn Frey: Part of You, Part of Me

Thelma & Louise was the bet of the lifetime for Alan Ladd Jr, who was heading the production of MGM in 1991. Maybe that was the reason Glenn Frey, who had been enjoying a healthy post-Eagles career thanks to two soundtrack hits (Heat Is On / You Belong to the City), was called in. Well, the lightning did not strike the third time. The movie itself became a cultural phenomenon and a modest hit but ultimately couldn’t save MGM from financial doldrums, forcing Alan Ladd Jr. to leave his position and seek a new world, just like his dad did in the iconic movie. And Glenn Frey? Yes, we heard him again in another movie—Jerry Maguire—as an actor. Oh, and in the Eagles reunion.

Staple song: The One You Love (in South-East Asia, you hear this song more often than this week’s Top 40. Glenn, if you are looking for quick cash, come to Taiwan.)

Don Henley: Talking to the Moon

Don Henley and Glenn Frey were the two Eagles who remained famousbeyond the 1970s. (We can argue that Joe Walsh had the highest ambition by trying to become the President of the United States.) Don Henley’s first solo album, I Can’t Stand Still (1982), was a little-known effort backed by his friends, including J.D. Souther and Bob Seger. Just as his old peer Glenn Frey built his solo resume on a niche (soundtrack hits), Don Henley made himself famous with adult ballads such as Boys of Summer and The End of the Innocence. Talking to the Moon was never released as a single, but we can clearly hear the dots that lead to his later hits.

Staple song: Boys of Summer (again, literal version. I cannot seem to finish an introduction without inserting at least one mockery.)

P.S. Youtube deleted the original video due to “copyright infringement” so I am putting up the Live version. If there are more guns in the US than the number of people who live there, someone please grab the redundant guns and shoot the lawyers.

Jefferson Airplane: Planes

The end of the 80s had a revival boom of supergroups. No, I am not talking about the stars of yesteryear having their 35th Japanese tour.. That happens all the time. The Jefferson Airplane seriously tried to get on the frontline again with its original members and original songs. It’s a timeless tactic to win the hearts of past and current fans (Fast & Furious): new model, original parts. The difference is, of course, that it works way much better in movies than in rock.
When Starship was at its height with “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” Grace Slick, later joining the Jefferson Airplane reunion, declared “I know damn well how fast a relationship can fall apart.” Maybe she did not know that damn well.

Staple song: Somebody to Love

The Knack: Rocket O’ Love

Ma, ma, ma, myyyeeeeee Sharona. Do you think The Knack was the ultimate one-hit wonder (until Vanilla Ice came in)? Actually, they almost had their second chance. Riding the revival boom of the early 90s, they tried to ignite the fire again in 1991 with this song. It did climbed up to the Top 10, but that did not help them re-establish their name. Life isn’t fair.

Staple song: I refuse to say it. (I am considering getting rid of this part.)