One of the things I just love doing that doesn’t happen much anymore is laying on the couch, in the dark, listening to an album. As I get older, I’m going to bed earlier, which limits how much time I have to listen to albums at night. However, my wife and I just had our first child, so I might be able to get back to it again.

I can hear all of you with children saying “WTF, Steed? You think you’ll be able to do anything ever again with a child in the house?” Well, yes, I do. I’m in a two-level condo with the master bedroom on the second floor and the baby’s room on the first. So on nights where it’s my turn to stay up with the baby, this may be a good chance to pop on an album since my wife will be upstairs with the door shut. I very well could be dreaming here and just haven’t had enough experience yet with this whole fatherhood thing to understand that this just isn’t going to happen, but I hold out hope at least.

Well anyway, the point of this was the music. There’s just something about turning the lights off, shutting your eyes and listening to the right piece of music. One of my favorites is the 1996 self-titled release from Deadsy. It’s a rock album that moves at a snail’s pace, with down-tuned guitars and z-tars that create a creepy mood.

Mostly though I listen to more conventional things, like Sting’s The Soul Cages, Huey Lewis and The News’ Fore! or The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway from Genesis. They all just kind of take me to a nice comfortable place where nothing but the music exits. Most people just pull out the bong to get to a similar place, but I go to Peter Gabriel instead. (Why do I feel like I’ve just done a “music is my anti-drug” commercial?) I need to find that point again and get to it every now and then. Now, only if my boy will give daddy 45 minutes to do so.

It’s a doozy of week here, as there are more rare tracks in this one than in any other post so far. So without further ado, I give you more from the letter D as we continue to trudge through the muck at the bottom of the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the ’80s.

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