I can’t imagine why public transportation isn’t more popular…
Hard to believe it’s been five whole years now since The Nest began redefining what Monday means to the world. Through Mecca Muzak Mondays, two different countdowns, and now the DVA… DJ Scratchy and her record wrangling Sponkies have prepared your ears to face the coming week each and every Monday since the first week of June 2014! And we sure as heck aren’t going to spend all day patting ourselves on the dust jackets… so let’s get right to digging another song that got lost in the iPod shuffle out of that time capsule of pop muzak we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! Scratchy and the Sponks are going to tear down this wall to bring you a forgotten pioneer of the early 80’s sound we all know and (cough, hack) love!
You might think that Berlin is a European band that made a minor splash in America over thirty years ago and then retreated somewhere back behind the Iron Curtain to be retired along with all those old communist despots and Yugos. However, despite their name and their sound, the group formed in the Los Angeles area in the late 70’s… about 6,000 miles away from the city they took their name from. You might remember their two Top 40 US hits… 1984’s “No More Words” with the memorable depression era music video, and that godawful love song from Top Gun “Take My Breath Away,” which was their lone #1. You may even remember Berlin for their bombshell lead singer Terri Nunn’s signature white hair with the ends dyed black, which was quite radical looking in 1984. But now…
Bitch, please…
Though “Words” and “Breath” are the two songs that keep Berlin from being as forgotten as a jelly doughnut… it was one of their very early songs that came to best define the era when new wave was all the rage and acoustic instruments were verboten. In 1981, Berlin released its first single “Tell Me Why,” but it was the B-side that had what would become the group’s third biggest hit, reaching only #56 upon its re-release in 1983. Take a ride with Berlin on “The Metro” and see if the 80’s don’t just come rolling back to you…
The synthesizer was the instrument of the decade, and few songs make more prominent use of those funny sounding keyboards than “The Metro.” In fact, if you were to create a song that was meant to mock and stereotype the new wave sound, it would likely bear a strong resemblance to The Metro. It is the ultimate new wave anthem that no longer gets the glory of radio airplay because corporate radio heads have shitty taste…
That’ll add a grey streak to Terri’s hair…
Come back next week as another lost hit departs the station…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
Hmm…….I don’t remember this one…..the sound is familiar – is it Blondie I’m thinking of or maybe any of several other bands with that kind of sound and lead singer’s, etc. Anyway, thanks for getting my ears ready for the din of traffic on a Monday morning!!
Pam
It’s actually not too far away from Blondie, now that you mention it. Well, if Deborah Harry died the tips of her hair black…
I can’t recall if she ever did that but I remember when it was “the look”…..rather skunk-like!
oh my I remember the hairstyle… and I had such a hat too… in red… I looked like a wellyaknow…but I loved it even when my parents feared the weird looks of the neighborhood lOL
It takes a big hat to fit over that big hair…
I. can’t. stop. jumping. up. and. down. now. Always loved that song. Talk about getting the ole ticker going in aerobics class! Here’s to a jumping good week.
Richard Simmons isn’t the only one who can get people sweating to the oldies…
LOVE this song, especially the line “I emerged in London rain and you were waiting there swimming through apologies” totally brilliant! It also has a bit of cringe worthiness when even men were plastered with tons of makeup for sellable videos, lol. This song is one of many that defines the new wave sound of the 80’s. So much thanks to DJ Scatchy on today’s pick!
I was going to comment about the fact that it looked like her “love” interest was wearing more makeup than she was, but I try to keep these posts reasonably short! And while I’m no judge of the sex appeal of men, I have to think that plastered mess he had on his face wasn’t doing him any favors!
I don’t think makeup did favors to any of the men in the 1980’s videos, including the hair bands of that era, lol. Weren’t those two a “thing” in the 80’s? I thought I heard that’s why Berlin broke up, because of the personal relationship they had that went south.
One of my professors in college (I was a music major early on) was the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. He wrote a song for Owen when he was born. He was also the guy who convinced me I wasn’t going to be a musician, so he suggested maybe I should do whatever I want to really do. He was a great guy.
Neat! The Moog made a lot of songs from the past 50 years a whole lot better…
You’re right, it doesn’t get more 80’s than that. Ah, halcyon days…
Thank goodness guys don’t still wear makeup these days…
I know this song!! Not from the 80s, of course. My husband is an 80s guy and he likes this song. I probably first heard it in the ’00s. It’s okay. Not hideous. Well, the make up & styles of the 80s were kind of always hideous, but that’s a different post.
As soon as I saw the name of the group was Berlin, I thought of this song. I don’t know if I know any others. Never saw Top Gun. Tom Cruise is not a fave. Risky Business was good though.
You must have really shielded yourself from 80’s music if you’ve never heard their song from “Top Gun.” It’s absolutely awful, and I think you’d hate it even more than I do. I’ll admit that a lot of my favorite 80’s songs were songs I didn’t learn of until the 2000’s… and like you, this would be one of them.