AFI is always one of those bands that I feel like I have to justify liking. They fall into the "but seriously!" group. As in: "But seriously, later Incubus ditched the nu-metal stuff and got pretty good!" or "but seriously, early Muse was really good!" That kind of thing.
That's how it's always been for AFI. They're a group that a lot of punk purists consider a sellout, and not without reason: they went from a hardcore '90s punk band to releasing the cash-in emo single "Miss Murder" in 2006. But that doesn't mean they are without quality work in their back catalog, which brings me to their 2000 album, The Art of Drowning.
AFI's brand of punk rock in 2000 was faced-paced and furious, with Davey Havok's unique, high voice standing out most. And liking The Art of Drowning depends a lot on whether you can tolerate his voice or not; many can't, and it's probably the deciding factor for many listeners of this album.
This album's highlights include fast-paced opener "The Lost Souls," lead single and best track "The Days of the Phoenix," and the mournful ballad "Morningstar," which is sort of a cousin of "God Called In Sick Today" from their previous album, only without the heavy chorus.
If you are a fan of '90s punk rock a la Bad Religion, The Art of Drowning is probably something you'll enjoy very much. The shame of it is that it's become hidden in the past of a band that has gone on to be far more popular, yet far less good.
On March 18, The War on Drugs released Lost in the Dream, an album which was preceded by a strong lead single, "Red Eyes." Personally, I had never had much reason to listen to this band (which is mostly the work of Adam Granduciel), as their previous effort, 2011's Slave Ambient, was a record I thought was very average. That changed with Lost in the Dream. The obvious highlight of the album is its first single, "Red Eyes." It's a reverb-filled, synth-heavy and just plain fun jam that's probably the best song of the year so far. The other songs on the album tend to be longer, slower extended jams like the opening track, "Under the Pressure." The nice thing is that these longer songs never drag: they're exactly as long as they should be. I can only think of one complaint for this album, and that's that at times it is more along the lines of background music than something that commands your attention. This is especially true considering the length of the songs. This is not necessarily a bad thing though; it's just an album meant more for the background, rather than one that commands your attention. Lost In The Dream is an excellent ambient album that draws on the sounds of the '70s and '80s. The best way I can describe it is that it's as though "Dancing in the Dark"-era Bruce Springsteen was putting out an album in 2014. So if that sounds like your thing, this album comes highly recommended. Grade: B Video: "Red Eyes"
Pretty much everything I've posted here so far has been an album review. But not today. Today it's time to delve into that goldmine of comedy: the '80s music video. There are tons and tons that could have made the list, but here I've listed my five personal favorites. Pat
Benatar, “Love is a Battlefield”
This one is like a five-act play, all on its own.
Most of these
videos keep the action separate from the song. The video for “Love is a
Battlefield,” however, actually interrupts the song with dialogue. In the
opening scene, Pat is getting kicked out of her house. The scene goes like
this:
Pat (singing):
We are strong!
Pat’s Father
(speaking): You leave this house now!
Pat (singing):
No one can tell us we’re wrong!
Pat’s Father
(speaking): And you can just forget about coming back!
I don’t know
about you, but if I was getting kicked out of my house, I’d certainly put up a
bigger fight than singing things that have nothing to do with what’s actually
going on.
She then looks
up longingly at the window, where a young man looks out. This is presumably
supposed to be her boyfriend. But why is her boyfriend in her house? Who knows.
Maybe it’s her younger brother, although that would make the longing look she
gives him much creepier.
With nowhere to
go, Pat decides (naturally) to become a prostitute. Later in the video, she and
her fellow dancers are being harassed by a creepy man with golden teeth. As
dancing is their main skill, they deal with this problem by banding together and
literally dancing him out of the building. After this ordeal, Pat sets off on
the road again, leaving us wondering what would happen to her afterwards. I
guess we’ll have to watch the “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” video to find out…
Judas
Priest, “Breaking the Law”
If you’re a
metal band trying to make a video of your song called “Breaking the Law,” I
imagine your natural idea would be to combine the concepts of metal and
law-breaking. Judas Priest carries that out with this video, in which they rob banks solely by using the power of metal. Can you beat that?
Journey,
“Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
The scene: an abandoned shipyard. Suddenly the members of Journey appear out of nowhere, playing
invisible instruments. Then just as suddenly the instruments appear in front of
them! There’s no logical conclusion to draw, other than the fact that these
guys are clearly wizards.
We then cut to a
very '80s-looking woman, walking down the boardwalk. The Journey members’
instruments have disappeared, so they are miming again. Steve Perry begins to
sing, sporting a mullet and wearing what may or may not be a woman’ one-piece
bathing suit under his jeans. We continue to cut back and forth between the woman
and the band, whose instruments continue to disappear then reappear. Now these
wizards are just showing off. We also get close-ups on Steve Perry’s face from
a variety of different angles. Perry is really acting his heart out in this
video. The members of Journey continue to sing near and around this mysterious
woman, though she gives no sign that she can see or hear them. Maybe they’re
not wizards, but ghosts?
This one just has
to be seen to be believed.
Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up"
I couldn't possibly have left out this classic, which features a lot of random dancing in front of brick walls, and Rick Astley looking extremely awkward and roughly 12 years old. (Side note: Is that his real voice? How does a 12-year-old have a voice that deep?). He's not the only one dancing either; the video features a variety of bizarre five-second cameos from various people doing weird dances. This is a true gem, and soooo '80s.
Stevie Nicks, “Stand Back (with
commentary)”
It wouldn't be a list of ridiculous things from the '8-s without Stevie Nicks. The video is pretty funny by
itself, but the commentary by present-day Stevie Nicks adds a lot to it. It’s
great to hear one of these videos commented on by the artist today, as Stevie
lays into her own video. saying things like, “I can’t remember what the hell my
idea was” and “it looks so completely stupid.” She even criticizes her own
lyrics: “’take me home,’ what the heck does that mean?” The basic idea of the
video is a rough Gone with the Wind theme, but carried out in a very
over-the-top 80s style. Though she spends most of the commentary making fun of
the video, present-day Stevie still gives us plenty of reasons to laugh at her,
providing transitions like “and now, we’re in the Civil War” and “suddenly my
house is burning down.”
