Gen X-er living in a time machine, high on nostalgia. Flashbacks is the debut album by Peach on a beach, a tribute to growing up in Dartmouth, NS during the 80s. Available on streaming and CD. Check out YouTube videos for "Beeping and Bleeping", "Pizza Corner", "Before Call Display", "Anticipation Street" and "Boogeyman Trail". Released on Feb. 16, "Rabbit Hole", is a tribute to alternative artists The Cure and Skinny Puppy. Official website: https://www.peachonabeach.ca/
These last four videos are deeply embedded in my psyche;
they were all released when I was between 13 and 15 years old.
"Pale Shelter" by Tears For Fears is one memorizing tune.
The acoustic guitar in the intro pleasantly strums along with the ubiquitous synths creates instant magic.
I was a young teen when the song hit our shores. And I was always captivated by its video.
Now it's massively nostalgic.
During the last chorus in the video, Roland and Curt are walking beside a school amid a shower of hundreds of paper airplanes being tossed out windows.
This scene always takes me back to Mr. McInness's aka Mister Magoo's Grade 7 English class at Prince Arthur Junior School when David Israel got caught for tossing a paper airplane out the window and whose name ended up on the blackboard's detention list as "David the Pilot".
Back to the video, I always wince when Roland gets the sharp end of a paper plane straight into his eye.
"Mad World" is typical of a Tears For Fears tune, with a striking contrast between the upbeat music and the darker, more serious lyrics.
The message of "Mad World" by Tears For Fears seems so relevant in 2020 and 2021.
In the video Curt is seen staring out a window while Roland busts a series of unstoppable new wave dance moves, perhaps early rave technique, sometimes mistaken for a nervous air traffic controller.
The short birthday party scene includes the duo's real friends and family, including Curt's mother and his then-wife Lynne.
Start the clip around the two minute mark if you would rather skip some of Curt Smith's depressive ramblings.
Back in April 2020, Curt Smith and his daughter performed this moving acoustic version.
I have strong memories of songs sounding better in the spring of 1985. It may have something to do with turning 16 and learning to drive, cruising around the 'burbs in Dad's Escort hatchback, giddy to be charge of the radio dial and cassette deck. I abandoned coke-bottle glasses for contact lens and remember jamming to this after the fitting. Still, the songs that spring seemed 'sunnier'. Other anthems of optimism littering the charts were the "Walking on Sunshine" ear worm, the uplifting "Things Can Only Get Better", Madonna's best "Into the Groove", Duran's "View to A Kill" and Phil's "Sussudio". The opening "Welcome to your life, there's no turning back" gets your attention while the infectious arrangement and ambitious lyrics keep it on top as a great driving track.
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears For Fears is one of Gen X's greatest anthems, this stunning song is a bit cynical yet also ambitious and optimistic.
One of those rare tunes with a near-universal appeal, it resonates with just about everyone. Is there a catchier song from the decade that also touches on the issues du jour like the environment, yuppies and the Cold War? From the profound and ambiguous lyrics that make you think, the vocals, and of course the incredible arrangement. The short but captivating vocal bridge is out of this world just before the sweeping synths and guitars kick in for a longer instrumental one.
The uplifting vibe of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" puts me in a great mood despite the lyrics being a bit on the cynical side. The song only reinforces the type of music I love best: melodic music and dark lyrics. The lyrics challenge us to live life to the fullest (at the time it was during the Cold War of course) by taking full advantage of its pleasures and liberties before the true nature of the world, war and turmoil, come back again as per the history books.
One of the best driving songs ever made, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" always makes me want to put the top down and hit the gas. Even in the winter.
The classic video features Curt Smith driving an antique sports car around Southern California interspersed with shots of the full band performing the song in a studio.
When I hear this song today I still get that same feeling. So I'm destined to never, ever tire of this tune. That's some powerful nostalgia. Other favourites from 1985:
"Things Can Only Get Better" - Howard Jones "The Perfect Kiss" - New Order "Some Like It Hot" - The Powerstation
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears For Fears is one of Gen X's greatest anthems, this stunning song is a bit cynical yet also ambitious and optimistic.
One of those rare tunes with a near-universal appeal, it resonates with just about everyone. Is there a catchier song from the decade that also touches on the issues du jour like the environment, yuppies and the Cold War? From the profound and ambiguous lyrics that make you think, the vocals, and of course the incredible arrangement. The short but captivating vocal bridge is out of this world just before the sweeping synths and guitars kick in for a longer instrumental one.
The uplifting vibe of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" puts me in a great mood despite the lyrics being a bit on the cynical side. The song only reinforces the type of music I love best: melodic music and dark lyrics. The lyrics challenge us to live life to the fullest (at the time it was during the Cold War of course) by taking full advantage of its pleasures and liberties before the true nature of the world, war and turmoil, come back again as per the history books. Fave lyrics: all of it is so thought-provoking. But if I have to choose it's the universal truth of the opening line: "Welcome to your life / there's no turning back...".
One of the best driving songs ever made, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" always makes me want to put the top down and hit the gas. Even in the winter.
The classic video features Curt Smith driving an antique sports car around Southern California interspersed with shots of the full band performing the song in a studio.
My deep affection for the track has a lot to do with the timing of its release. In the spring of 1985 I'd just gotten my contacts and in the midst of a personal re-branding of sorts: I had the feeling I could do anything I wanted to in life. After getting my license days later, it was one of the first songs I cranked in Dad's Ford Escort hatchback.
When I hear this song today i still get that same feeling. So I'm destined to never, ever tire of this tune. That's some powerful nostalgia.
One of the first Brit invasion songs to catch my attention back in 1982, "Pale Shelter" by Tears For Fears is among the very best from this era. It seems ludicrous now that the single only peaked at #15 in Canada.
The song is completely memorizing: from the get go in the intro an acoustic guitar pleasantly strums along with the ubiquitous synths making a truly magical sound. I was always captivated by this video and the hundreds of paper airplanes tossed out the school windows, reminiscent of similar antics by David "The Pilot" in Mr. McInness's Grade 7 English class at Prince Arthur Junior School. I wonder if Hampton Court Palace staff will supply us with paper airplanes to toss in unison from the ramparts during the bridge when we see the band live in London this June. Or maybe we'll just have to bring our own? While Roland Orzabal sings most of the hits on the 1985's Songs From The Big Chair, Curt Smith's softer vocals are a better fit for this melancholic number. Fave lyric: "When all I want to be is, completely in command." If you enjoy this track then you'll love this live version from 1983:
The 2016 single "Secrets" by The Weeknd has introduced the Millenials to Tears For Fears and other 80s artists, as the song samples vocals from both "Pale Shelter" and "Talking in your Sleep" by the Romantics.
Timeless may be an overused word to describe music, however that descriptor totally fits here. The third single from the deep Tears For Fear's Songs From the Big Chair album sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Only peaking at #7 on the Peach chart in Sept. 1985 (see below), I seem to enjoy the warm & fuzzy "Head Over Heels"more every year.
Perhaps it's the full-on nostalgia of watching a video set in a library devoid of computers and mobile devices. Or maybe it's the memories of hearing this played on the radio in PEI with my parents in search of a cabin? (should have called ahead, right Dad?). I dig the high production and passionate vocals, and the balance of the cerebral lyrics with a playful video. The arrangements are stellar, starring a divine synth riff around 01:30, well-placed harmonies, the "4-leaf clover" bridge and "la-la-la, funny-how-time-flies finale". Pure Magic.
The first of four to appear on this list from Tears For Fears, you could always count on them to release strong singles. Following the success of a trio of synth-pop songs from their debut album The Hurting, the release of "Shout" showed the band could rock it as well. "Shout" embraces the big production of the 80s with a six minute build that progressively adds more instruments, more singers, and more passion. The iconic guitar riff and the big fat, final chorus could have lasted another minute or two with no complaints here. I remember everyone at least liked this song, or was it that no one hated it.
