Wall Street Journal: U.S. Inflation Hit 7 per cent in December, Fastest Pace Since 1982.
The Billboard Hot 100 for 1982 is rich pickings. What a rocking year for music. I’ve chosen the Go-Gos’ smash hit because it evokes wonderfully the swagger and sexy vim of the early Reagan Era. Belinda Carlisle was the California girl who gave the band surfer coolness but it was replacement bassist Kathy Valentine who brought real musicianship to the mix and made the former punks truly swing. What I love most about this track is her killer bassline.
Alex the Seal!
The Billboard 100 list is interesting since it runs so heavily to conventional pop with a leavening of residual prog rock. No alt rock or new wave at all, even though many of the well known bands like the Cure, REM, Depeche Mode and Joy Division were around. Maybe December 1982 was just on the cusp of the great switcheroo in taste.
Yeah, CL great song. I still remember the Go-Gos on the cover of Rolling Stone in their undies. Belinda Carlisle pre-botox was chubby and cute. They were smart, clever and sexy without having to drag themselves through the gutter like Madonna. I once heard Year of the Cat folk singer, Al Stewart waxing lyrical like a fanboy when he sat next to Charlotte Caffey at a bar in L.A. Huge fan.
So true.
They’re touring again this year, actually.