We’ve talked before about songs we loved in our younger days that just don’t quite hold up to an older ear’s scrutiny. Unfortunately (or not, if you still love it),…
John C. Hughes
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John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…
John C. Hughes
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Can you believe Joan Armatrading has been making music for nearly 40 years? Yeah, me neither. Did you know her first album came out all the way back in 1972?…
John C. Hughes
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One of the first acts mentioned whenever someone brings up the subject of “’80s One-Hit Wonder,” Dexys Midnight Runners actually had quite a few hits in the UK, including a…
John C. Hughes
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Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Morrissey made quite of a bit of noise in the music press (this is back when he deigned to speak with them) about bands he…
John C. Hughes
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A friend of mine the other day brought up Pat Benatar as a potential Lost in the ’80s “When New Wave Happens to Old Artists” post, since she flirted with…
John C. Hughes
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Because absolutely no one the editorial staff demanded it — John C. Hughes and the world’s foremost Belinda Carlisle impersonator, a.k.a. his buddy Matty (or “Bearlinda,” if you prefer), return…
John C. Hughes
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Yeah, I know we’ve done ABBA once already this year, but in celebration of “Mamma Mia” stinking up theater screens nationwide, I figure we should probably take a look at…
John C. Hughes
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I’ll be up front about this one: I really never got Nitzer Ebb. Back in my DJing days, I’d get tons of requests for “Join in the Chant,” “Murderous,” or…
John C. Hughes
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Years before Eminem fantasized about killing his baby mama, another white rapper was crafting hip-hop joints about killing annoying passersby and setting fire to buildings in the dead of night…
John C. Hughes
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I’d been a big fan of Midge Ure-era Ultravox since the first time I saw “Vienna” on MTV early one Sunday morning in 1982, so when I spotted the new…
John C. Hughes
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When I was 11 years old and living in rural Grafton, Ohio, there weren’t too many other kids my age in our neighborhood, especially any with my twin obsessions, Micronauts…
John C. Hughes
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Y’know, if Josie Cotton’s best-known single had become more than just a regional hit on the west coast, my high school life would have been a living hell. But thankfully,…
John C. Hughes
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Here’s one I’ve been saving because … well, I’ve been too lazy to break out the USB turntable. 1994 was a great year for the Breeders. Last Splash had just…
John C. Hughes
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Anyone who’s been hanging around these parts with any frequency for the past few months has probably picked up on my unabashed love for pop candy peddlers Mike Chapman and…
John C. Hughes
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Happy Gay Pride! I mean, really. This just may be the gayest post ever on Popdose, and that’s coming from the guy who does a feature called Phagz on 45…
John C. Hughes
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Before getting lost in the world of orchestral strings and Tim Burton soundtracks, Danny Elfman was the singularly strange lead singer/songwriter behind guitar/horn section new wave hybrid Oingo Boingo. Big…
John C. Hughes
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Here we go again — John C. Hughes and the world’s foremost Belinda Carlisle impersonator, a.k.a. his buddy Matty (or “Bearlinda,” if you prefer), knock back some booze and review…
John C. Hughes
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Knoxville, Tennessee combo Superdrag’s 1996 major-label debut, Regretfully Yours, will always remind me of driving. Y’see, I was finishing up college at Cleveland State University, which was about a 40-minute…
John C. Hughes
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Shalamar began life as a studio project by Soul Train booker Dick Griffrey, but after the success of their first single, “Uptown Festival,” Griffrey had to put some faces with…
John C. Hughes
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You know the deal: John C. Hughes and the world’s foremost Belinda Carlisle impersonator, a.k.a. his buddy Matty (or “Bearlinda,” if you prefer), knock back some booze and review some…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
With the exception of Bowie and a couple of can’t-be-denied hits from the Sweet and T. Rex, American radio just had no time for glam rock. While the U.K. was…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
I know what you’re thinking … how can a Duran Duran song possibly be considered Lost in the ’80s? How about when the band itself basically dislikes the single so…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Our new(ish) weekly feature on Popdose rolls on, as John C. Hughes and the world’s foremost Belinda Carlisle impersonator, a.k.a. his buddy Matty (or “Bearlinda,” if you prefer), knock back…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Since we’ve got the Ocean Blue on the brain, we should probably take a look at the band most commonly associated with them to the point of being an almost…
John C. Hughes
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Another reader-requested WYSL entry, Hershey, Pennsylvania’s the Ocean Blue combined their youthful energy and love of early ’80s alternative and new wave music into a relaxing, atmospheric blend of evocative…
John C. Hughes
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The Cars were on an extended hiatus in 1986 and its members were off doing their own thing. Ric Ocasek and Elliot Easton had both released solo discs since the…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Our new(ish) weekly feature on Popdose rolls on, as John C. Hughes and the world’s foremost Belinda Carlisle impersonator, a.k.a. his buddy Matty (or “Bearlinda,” if you prefer), knock back…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Let’s get this out there up right up front: I love this song. Space’s 1997 single, “Female of the Species” (download), is one of the funnest songs of the ’90s,…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Ah, the age-old struggle of Art vs. Commerce. Many a critically acclaimed band has succumbed to the pressure for that all-elusive hit, sacrificing credibility for a chance at some cold,…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Continuing our new weekly feature on Popdose, John C. Hughes and the world’s foremost Belinda Carlisle impersonator, a.k.a. his buddy Matty (or “Bearlinda,” if you prefer), knock back some drinks…