BOURGEOIS TAGG "Yoyo"
THE SECRET STARS "The Secret Stars"

I may have gone a little too far today. But I don't mind at all. Since I'm back on board with my iTunes library and sexy Seagate 300GB hard drive, I've been creating all sorts of playlists. For example, one's called Crazy Covers, and holy shit, it's crazy! But I wanted to make an 80s one, because I was kind of out to prove a point: that not all pop hits of the 80s sucked. I'm more of a hits of the 70s kinda guy anyway as I fell hook, line, and stinker for stuff like Gilbert O'Sullivan, Sweet, anything K-Tel. Once I got My Aim Is True on vinyl though, I pretty much ignored the schlocky awfulness of stuff like DeBarge and Miami Sound Machine.

So, back to finding a needle in a haystack. For every Naked Eyes song, I had to endure a Survivor one. I was finding most of the hits I could tolerate were of the new wave era. Until I re-discovered a lost classic from 1987 from Bourgeois Tagg. Remember, this was the "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" era. Pebbles and Cutting Crew ruled the school. So, it's shocking to hear the humble simplicity, the soaring strings, the Todd Rundgren production, the overall prettiness of something like "I Don't Mind At All". I don't remember being too in love with it since it was an MTV hit and I was probably at City Gardens moshing at a Ramones show. Time heals the wounds. Or am I crazy?

Upon listening this morning to the plaintive crooning of Bourgeois or Tagg or who knows, I was reminded of another similiar croon. The one of Geoff Farina of Karate/Secret Stars. I'm convinced he would've been the singer in Steely Dan had he been born 20 years earlier. Or am I crazy? It's also an exercise in why something is a hit or why it isn't. I mean, the Secret Stars are even unknown in indie circles, let alone close to scraping the bottom of any kind of chart. But it IS curious to see how close things can be and couldn't be farther apart.

I'm rambling and making no sense. But I don't mind at all. Pray for snow this weekend.

BOURGEOIS TAGG I DON'T MIND AT ALL
THE SECRET STARS SNOWDAY