RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Kylie Minogue had released the album, "Disco" late in 2020, in part, to serve as inspiration to get people back on the dance floor after spending most of the year in isolation. And this fifteenth studio album has gone on to become one of Minogue's most popular, leading to a sequel of sorts with "Disco: Guest List Edition" which includes remixes of the singles from the album and new dance songs with duets featuring Jessie Ware, Years & Years and the disco legend, Gloria Gaynor. The music video for the latest single, "Can't Stop Writing Songs About You" with Gaynor has just been released, with these two dancing queens helping to bring a disco to life.



Here is a highlight of some interesting songs that I love :

If you may recall, New Kids of the Block (which is probably not a great name for a group whose members are now in their fifties) was a pop boy-band, made up of Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood, who were wildly popular in the late '80's and early '90's with such songs as "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", "Step by Step" and "Hangin' Tough" before disbanding in 1994. They first reunited fourteen years later and have continued to come together over the years to tour. Now NKOTB plans to hit the road this summer with another Mixtape Tour that will include other musical acts that were popular during their time; Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Astley, and En Vogue. And to help get people in the mood, the band has released a new song and video, "Bring Back the Time" that features their tour mates. This fun clip has the musicians spoofing music videos of different artists from the height of the MTV era. Let's see how many of these you will remember:

And the former member of the British boy-band, One Direction, Harry Styles has just dropped some new music. After the incredible success of his first two solo albums, fans have been anxiously waiting to hear what he will do next and Styles does not disappoint. The twenty-eight year old musician has been greatly inspired by the music from the past and with "As It Was", he delivers an '80's new wave vibe. Written by Styles with Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson (who also co-produced), the song is an introspective look at change and a feeling of loneliness. "As It Was" broke Spotify’s single-day streaming record by a male artist with 16.1 million streams in its first 24 hours. This is the first track off of Styles' upcoming album, "Harry's House" due out in May.

LAND OF THE ONE-HIT WONDERS: 80'S EDITION

I graduated from high school in 1981, so the music of the 1980's (despite how corny it sounds) was truly the soundtrack of my formative years. When I hear these songs, they take me back to a specific moment in my life and although I didn't realize it at the time but it was a simpler time with few cares in the world beyond deciding what I was going to wear when I would go out dancing.

So, once again, here are some my favorite songs from the artists who managed to have only one hit chart on the U.S top-forty charts:

"Cars" - Gary Numan (1980)

"Whip It" - Devo (1980)

"Double Dutch Bus" - Frankie Smith (1981)

"Tainted Love"  - Soft Cell (1982)

"Someday Someway" - Marshall Crenshaw (1982)

"Love Plus One" - Haircut 100 (1982)

"Pass The Dutchie" - Musical Youth (1983)

"Too Shy" - Kajagoogoo (1983)

"In A Big Country" - Big Country (1983)

"They Don't Know" - Tracey Ullman (1984)

"Relax" - Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1985)

"Perfect Way" - Scritti Politti (1985)

"Tarzan Boy" - Baltimora (1986)

"Casanova" - Levert (1987)

"Beds Are Burning" - Midnight Oil (1988)

"What I Am" - Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians (1989)

You've enjoyed the sounds of the '80's, now let have a few visuals: