End of the Century is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones,released on February 4,1980,through Sire Records. The album was the band's first to be produced by Phil Spector,though he had offered the band his assistance earlier in their career. With Spector fully producing the album,it was the first release that excluded original member Tommy Ramone,who had left the band in 1978 but had produced their previous album Road to Ruin. Spector used more advanced standards of engineering,such as high-quality overdubbing and echo chambers. These painstaking methods caused conflict between the band and Spector since the Ramones were accustomed to a quicker recording process. Spector emphasized the production value as well,working with a budget of around $200,000,far exceeding their earlier album sessions.
Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles,California. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence,the band came to prominence when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV and alternative radio. The band was known for surrealist lyrics drawing on iconography of the American southwest.
"Cruel Summer" is a song by English girl group Bananarama. It was written by Bananarama and Steve Jolley,Tony Swain,and produced by Jolley and Swain. Released in 1983,it was initially a stand-alone single but was subsequently included on their self-titled second album a year later. The song reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart in 1983 and the group appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops that summer,and after its inclusion in the 1984 film The Karate Kid,it reached number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.
I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III,Jay Boberg,and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s,and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock,new wave and alternative rock artists,including R.E.M.,The Go-Go's,Wall of Voodoo,and Fine Young Cannibals. Currently the label is distributed by parent company Universal Music Group.
Stanard "Stan" Ridgway is an American singer-songwriter,and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice,dramatic lyrical narratives,and eclectic solo albums. He was the original lead singer and a founding member of the band Wall of Voodoo.
Marc Moreland was an American rock musician. He was the former guitarist for rock band Wall of Voodoo,punk band The Skulls,and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks. He also released a solo album under the name Marc Moreland Mess.
"Just Can't Get Enough" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was their third single,released on 7 September 1981,a month before the release of their debut studio album,Speak &Spell. It was recorded during the summer of that year at Blackwing Studios,and was the band's first single to be released in the United States,on 18 February 1982. A riff-driven synth-pop song,"Just Can't Get Enough" was the final single to be written by founding member Vince Clarke,who left the band in November 1981.
Call of the West is the second studio album by Los Angeles rock band Wall of Voodoo,released in September 1982. The album contains "Mexican Radio",the group's most well-known song,which was released as a single and whose video received moderate airplay on MTV.
"Radio Free Europe" is the debut single by American alternative rock band R.E.M.,released in 1981 on the short-lived independent record label Hib-Tone. The song features "what were to become the trademark unintelligible lyrics which [sic] have distinguished R.E.M.'s work ever since." The single received critical acclaim,and its success earned the band a record deal with I.R.S. Records. R.E.M. re-recorded the song for their 1983 debut album Murmur. The re-recording for I.R.S. became the group's first charting single,peaking at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is ranked number 389 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009,it was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for setting "the pattern for later indie rock releases by breaking through on college radio in the face of mainstream radio's general indifference."
"The Loco-Motion" is a 1962 pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp,but Sharp turned the song down.
Seven Days in Sammystown is the third studio album by American rock band Wall of Voodoo,released in 1985. This was the first Wall of Voodoo album to include Andy Prieboy on vocals and Ned Leukhardt on drums—following the departure of frontman Stan Ridgway and percussionist Joe Nanini—and also features the return of original bassist Bruce Moreland. It includes their cover version of Merle Travis' "Dark as a Dungeon". The track "Far Side of Crazy" is featured in the 1985 movie Head Office. The album reached No. 50 on the Australian charts.
"Voodoo Child" is a song written by Elvis Costello,James Ash,and Steve Davis and produced by Ash for Australian electronic rock band Rogue Traders' second album,Here Come the Drums (2005). It was the first single for the new member Natalie Bassingthwaighte. It was released as a CD single in Australia on 30 May 2005 as the first song released from the album. In 2006,it was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download and CD single.
"Close to Me" is a song by English rock band the Cure,released in September 1985 as the second and final single from their sixth album,The Head on the Door.
"Faded" is a song written by Matthew Gerrard,Jessica Origliasso,Lisa Origliasso,and Robbie Nevil,produced by Gerrard and Bryon Jones for Australian singer Kate DeAraugo's first album A Place I've Never Been (2005). It was released as the album's second single in Australia on 20 February 2006 as a CD single. Two of the song's co-writers—Jessica and Lisa Origliasso of the Veronicas—recorded a demo of "Faded" prior to DeAraugo's release. They have been known to perform the song live.
"Hungry Heart" is a rock song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his fifth album,The River. It was released as the album's lead single in 1980 and became Springsteen's first big hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart peaking at number five.
Dark Continent is the debut studio album by the American rock band Wall of Voodoo,released in 1981 by I.R.S. Records. Early live versions of four songs are featured on the compilation The Index Masters.
Jean Beauvoir is an American singer,bassist,guitarist,multi-instrumentalist,songwriter,producer and entertainment executive. He came to prominence in the early 1980s with the punk group the Plasmatics and went on to work with Little Steven,Kiss,the Ramones and as a solo artist.
"Joey" is the ninth track from American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde's third studio album,Bloodletting (1990). The song was released in 1990 and was written and sung by the band's frontwoman,Johnette Napolitano. The song was written in a cab on the way to a photo studio in Philadelphia;it was the last vocal recorded on the album due to Napolitano's reluctance to record the lyrics,which were hard for her to deal with.
The Bruthers were an American garage rock band from Pearl River,New York,active in the mid to late 1960s,and whose membership consisted the four brothers,Alf,Frank,Mike,and Joe of the Delia family. They recorded several songs for RCA records,of which,"Bad Way to Go" is the best known. The song is included on the compilation album,Pebbles Vol. 8,and is regarded by enthusiasts and collectors as a classic in the genre.
Francis Delia is an American filmmaker,photographer,writer and musician,at times credited as Francis X. Wolfe or F.X. Pope
