Friday, May 13, 2016

cruel summer, bananarama

recently I was driving home from the comedy club and heard a radio station playing 80's music. it was two songs that stood out for me- 'break my stride' by matthew wilder, and 'cruel summer' by bananarama. and I have written about the former already. I do recall 'cruel summer' being a hit, due to the song being in the movie 'karate kid'. according to Wikipedia, the song was a top ten hit in great Britain in 1983, and America a year later. I also recall this British band having a hit when they remade 'venus', originally a song by shocking blue. there are some scene changes in the video, found on youtube. it starts with the three ladies working at a gas station. it ends with the new York city skyline in the background, including the world trade center. I also liked Wikipedia saying the song 'played on the darker side of summer songs'. with those that know me well, know I can relate all too well to the darker side of things, because we can't ignore who we are. also notable is seeing a payphone in it, not common now when cellphones are the thing. at first I didn't quite understand the part when a police car arrives, and one of the officers is wearing a 10-gallon hat. but the article said this was a takeoff of the TV show 'dukes of hazzard'. it continues with a sticker with the band's name on it going up in the cab of a mack truck that arrived at the gas station before the police did. the band is also shown eating bananas and throwing the peels at the police car. I know the bananas have some meaning when this is the band's name.
   some of the lyrics really work for me. it starts with 'trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry'. and I like unanswered questions in music as well, and this is covered with 'what did they say?' when I hear 'too close for comfort' of course I think of the TV show of the same name. but what I really like is the music played in the chorus, or 'the hook'. and the contrast also works, with 'city is crowded my friends are away and i'm on my own'.
   I did find out it has been covered, there is a version by ace of base in the 1990s. I listened to it and it is a decidedly different version. I like the 80's version more, and it looks like this is also what one commenter said on youtube. I had to check IMDB to confirm, and yes it is listed in other movies besides 'karate kid'. I saw 'romy and michele' and it is in that movie as well.
   I went to two shows tonight, after eating at a hardee's. the lid-lifter was a comedy show, Michigan was in town as the headliner. I said it's not too often that I consistently laugh throughout a show. I liked how he at times would emphasize a joke by repeating a line with a different voice tone for effect, sometimes I do this as well.  signed up for the open-mic but wasn't picked, hadn't been there for their open-mic in a while for this reason. the bossman said that things had changed some on who gets picked, but since I was disappointed about the lack of stage time months ago I decided to do other things on that night of the week. this will probably continue for a while, as I do have interests outside of comedy. in addition, this is coming up on 'baseball, and museum season', where I tend to be out of town more. he was the last one i spoke with, after seeing chalm-skinn and Nebraska on the inside. the nightcap was a music show, also at a bar, I arrived near the end. the lady lead singer of the band, who I know from one of my regular nights of performing, played 'purple rain' by prince as the final song. it was something I was used to hearing from her previous times onstage. I am thankful I still made it to the second show, as I hadn't seen her in a while. she was in demand after the show, but we briefly spoke and she told me she noticed when I arrived.

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