I'm having a huge struggle with this. Come On Eileen is one of my absolute favorite songs. I still actively seek it out on Spotify and blare it from speakers that are much better than those tinny yellow Walkman speakers. (And yes - I will dance around to it, doing that raised arm thing from the video that apparently makes Keith and Joe uncomfortable or disgusted. I'm not ashamed of it either.) But I have to begrudgingly admit that She Blinded Me with Science has so much more of the 80s sound hallmarks. So I'm going to mull over this one more before voting. Go with my experience with the 2 songs or go with the sound of the songs themselves?????
Also, I love the Howard the Duck callout. I had forgotten all about that movie, but that reference reminded me how much I loved that movie in the 80s. I've definitely outed myself as loving bad 80s movies.
I checked, and “Howard the Duck” is 1986, so definitely well inside the bounds of the decade for the eventual Movie Season! I think it’s your choice of spouse, more than musical taste or movie favorites, that have people questioning your judgment! 😝 Just vote for Dexy’s you KNOW you want to! —Keith
Yeah, this one is a no brainer. I love me some Thomas Dolby but I'm definitely of the opinion that Come On Eileen is the greatest one-hit wonder of the 80s, maybe even of all time. (At least in the US, they were legit rock stars in the UK with a previous #1 song and lots of others that charted)
Side note - From the time this song came out when I was 12, the line where he sings, "I'll hum this tune forever" I heard as, "I'll hump this girl forever." I'd still argue my lyric is better.
Unlike you guys, but apparently like Keith's wife, I still adore this song. This always gets turned up when it comes on.
Fake 'toid: She blinded him with science by giving him chickenpox as a kid, which then came back as eye shingles later in life. #plottwist
Also, neither here nor there perhaps, but 80s-movie-soundtrack-master-turned-children's-songwriter Kenny Loggins has a version of Too-Ra-Loo-Ra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzgSQZs3Hs
Also, what is up with the shawl(?) Kenny is wearing here? This is very un-Loggins, but I gave it a listen. And it worked! The lullaby worked, unfortunately, I was driving at the time, and this reply is coming from a prison infirmary. Worth it.
I'm fairly dark, Keith. Fake 'toid: She blinded him with science by giving him non-approved eclipse glasses in 2024. "She" is actually Bonnie Tyler.
I now hope She Blinded Me With Science advances so that I can keep this going, just to be annoying.
Don't know what the story is with the shawl. I actually could find very little about this song/album (in my approximately 30 seconds of searching). Maybe a nod to the two songs about horses on the album (three, if you count unicorns)? I also forgot how most of the song is string plucking (on a harp, perhaps?). It's no jazzy sax, but at least no one's risking falling asleep at the wheel listening to 80s Loggins on your podcast.
I do like both and agree with Marcia's sentiments! I'm going with Come on Eileen because that one is the one that sticks in my head and makes me want to dance, 80's style!
And now I present my wife's favorite joke: "What's worse than sweat on Pat Benatar? Come On Eileen!" (I heard this one when I was just a tad to young to get it, honestly.) Anyway, Dexy's song isn't really that '80s, and Thomas Dolby's is. Easy vote here. (Also, it's excellent to learn of Keith's synth/new wave appreciation, since he was much more Van Halen-forward when we were in high school.)
Regarding being VH-forward: that’s a true fact. But, I managed to like multiple genres simultaneously! Even though the synth-pop stuff was a smaller percentage of my tape collection, it was there! In this part of the 80s, I really only knew radio-popular stuff (like very popular groups like Tears for Fears, OMD, Simple Minds were tapes I had, for example), so I wasn’t into Violent Femmes yet(‘87 for me), nor The Cure, Depeche Mode, REM, (‘88-‘89 for those bands) etc. A lot of that stuff I didn’t get into until I was off at college and met people with cool music collections, and had college radio to listen to, which is why I think you will really like my Side B selections. But also in fairness, I was listening to rock, metal, pop, and alternative (then known as “progressive”) music, while never really absorbing any of them into my visual identity. (As opposed to some folks you could walk past and immediately know they were metal heads, goth, etc. )
However in further fair reporting, my concert-going dollars WERE spent entirely on rock music(my friends were mostly rock fans), so I think it’s 100% fair that you would assume that rock was all I was listening to. And one further note, when Eddie started using synth in 1984 and beyond, I was one of the few VH fans who wasn’t complaining! 😂
Hey guys! I have to say that neither of these songs were popular at all in Argentina. I guess I'll go for "She blinded me with science", only because I think it would have made a great addition to the "Weird science" movie soundtrack!
“She Blinded Me…” WAS the theme song for the very first episode of American sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory.” Then it was changed to be a custom-made song by another group. (Not sure if you know that American TV show or not!) Anyway, I think you made a fine choice! —Keith
The Big Bang Theory is super popular in South America too, and one of my daughter's favourite shows. We'll watch the series premiere again then! Thanks Keith!
Your lyric IS better! I also thought I heard “hump” in there, but thought he said “goon,” which is nowhere near as fun! I guarantee you that Marcia will vote for this! I used to get so excited for “Come on Eileen,” apparently I have lost a good bit of my taste for it. Several of these songs are going that direction for me.
Your comment brings up an interesting question, as to why a band is so huge in the UK, and they have a giant hit here, but then no more…were those songs getting released in the US and failing to chart, or were they just not getting released over here? I don’t know if you know the answer to this, but you seem to know a lot!
Is “Come on Eileen” a dance club hit, by the way? I can see the Dolby song maybe being danceable…
I think they released their stuff in the US. I mean, if you score a #1 song you think the record labels - even though they could be so stupid - would be getting more of your stuff out there. They had like one other song dip into the top 100 in the US, but I think just barely. Sometimes stuff takes off in one country and not in another for whatever reason. One of my favorite bands from the late 80s, Fairground Attraction (who just reunited!), had a #1 song in the UK but I rarely find anyone in the US who has heard of them. But for some odd reason they were big in Japan. And it's not like David Hasselhoff's records were ONLY released in Germany, they just seem to be the only weirdos that dig them.
I don't think it was big in the "new wave" dance clubs I was going to in the 80s. Those leaned much more heavily on Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, New Order, OMD, Erasure, Bauhaus, The Cure, etc.
It's not hugely different but you can hear some more things in there that maybe gets buried in the original mix, like the banjo. The video is fun too because it goes through the years of the Dexys and the various looks. The whole overalls thing was just for that album, he pretty much changed the look of the band every album.
Took me a bit to get to this comment, but I wanted to have time to watch both videos! I really enjoyed the Eileen "retrospective" video with the new mix. Even with seeing the different years go by, it is hard to see the young Rowland in the current Rowland.
And the Mitchell cover is pretty cool, too. Thanks for sharing!
And I am not aware of Fairground Attraction, other than seeing you post about a show on Facebook. I shall have to seek out some of their music!
You must be correct about the releases. You get a #1 hit, of course you keep trying in that same market. So many of these UK bands that had only one monster US hit, I find out had 10+ hits in the UK. I wonder how many US artists who we consider legends are one-hit wonders in the UK? 🤔 Perhaps my friend El Waxo, who is listening from the UK can weigh in?
Your science roots are STRONG! Now just waiting for your brother to come counteract your vote! A marching band version of “She Blinded Me…”? THAT is the opposite of synthpop, but I bet you made it work! —Keith
I'm having a huge struggle with this. Come On Eileen is one of my absolute favorite songs. I still actively seek it out on Spotify and blare it from speakers that are much better than those tinny yellow Walkman speakers. (And yes - I will dance around to it, doing that raised arm thing from the video that apparently makes Keith and Joe uncomfortable or disgusted. I'm not ashamed of it either.) But I have to begrudgingly admit that She Blinded Me with Science has so much more of the 80s sound hallmarks. So I'm going to mull over this one more before voting. Go with my experience with the 2 songs or go with the sound of the songs themselves?????
Also, I love the Howard the Duck callout. I had forgotten all about that movie, but that reference reminded me how much I loved that movie in the 80s. I've definitely outed myself as loving bad 80s movies.
I checked, and “Howard the Duck” is 1986, so definitely well inside the bounds of the decade for the eventual Movie Season! I think it’s your choice of spouse, more than musical taste or movie favorites, that have people questioning your judgment! 😝 Just vote for Dexy’s you KNOW you want to! —Keith
My choice of spouse is the best decision I ever made! ❤️
D'awwww ♥️--K
Yeah, this one is a no brainer. I love me some Thomas Dolby but I'm definitely of the opinion that Come On Eileen is the greatest one-hit wonder of the 80s, maybe even of all time. (At least in the US, they were legit rock stars in the UK with a previous #1 song and lots of others that charted)
Side note - From the time this song came out when I was 12, the line where he sings, "I'll hum this tune forever" I heard as, "I'll hump this girl forever." I'd still argue my lyric is better.
Unlike you guys, but apparently like Keith's wife, I still adore this song. This always gets turned up when it comes on.
Fake 'toid: She blinded him with science by giving him chickenpox as a kid, which then came back as eye shingles later in life. #plottwist
Also, neither here nor there perhaps, but 80s-movie-soundtrack-master-turned-children's-songwriter Kenny Loggins has a version of Too-Ra-Loo-Ra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzgSQZs3Hs
That is some dark stuff, Gen.
Also, what is up with the shawl(?) Kenny is wearing here? This is very un-Loggins, but I gave it a listen. And it worked! The lullaby worked, unfortunately, I was driving at the time, and this reply is coming from a prison infirmary. Worth it.
--Keith
I'm fairly dark, Keith. Fake 'toid: She blinded him with science by giving him non-approved eclipse glasses in 2024. "She" is actually Bonnie Tyler.
I now hope She Blinded Me With Science advances so that I can keep this going, just to be annoying.
Don't know what the story is with the shawl. I actually could find very little about this song/album (in my approximately 30 seconds of searching). Maybe a nod to the two songs about horses on the album (three, if you count unicorns)? I also forgot how most of the song is string plucking (on a harp, perhaps?). It's no jazzy sax, but at least no one's risking falling asleep at the wheel listening to 80s Loggins on your podcast.
🤣🤣
😂
I think I prefer Eileen as a song, but Science is more 80s. Also, I love that Herbie Hancock joint you featured, great for a dance 😎
I had not heard that one in a minute! Recognized the tune immediately, but had forgotten the title! --K
I do like both and agree with Marcia's sentiments! I'm going with Come on Eileen because that one is the one that sticks in my head and makes me want to dance, 80's style!
This one may come down to ONE vote. It was tied earlier today!
And now I present my wife's favorite joke: "What's worse than sweat on Pat Benatar? Come On Eileen!" (I heard this one when I was just a tad to young to get it, honestly.) Anyway, Dexy's song isn't really that '80s, and Thomas Dolby's is. Easy vote here. (Also, it's excellent to learn of Keith's synth/new wave appreciation, since he was much more Van Halen-forward when we were in high school.)
Ah, that old classic joke 👏 👏 Well done!
Regarding being VH-forward: that’s a true fact. But, I managed to like multiple genres simultaneously! Even though the synth-pop stuff was a smaller percentage of my tape collection, it was there! In this part of the 80s, I really only knew radio-popular stuff (like very popular groups like Tears for Fears, OMD, Simple Minds were tapes I had, for example), so I wasn’t into Violent Femmes yet(‘87 for me), nor The Cure, Depeche Mode, REM, (‘88-‘89 for those bands) etc. A lot of that stuff I didn’t get into until I was off at college and met people with cool music collections, and had college radio to listen to, which is why I think you will really like my Side B selections. But also in fairness, I was listening to rock, metal, pop, and alternative (then known as “progressive”) music, while never really absorbing any of them into my visual identity. (As opposed to some folks you could walk past and immediately know they were metal heads, goth, etc. )
However in further fair reporting, my concert-going dollars WERE spent entirely on rock music(my friends were mostly rock fans), so I think it’s 100% fair that you would assume that rock was all I was listening to. And one further note, when Eddie started using synth in 1984 and beyond, I was one of the few VH fans who wasn’t complaining! 😂
—Keith
Hey guys! I have to say that neither of these songs were popular at all in Argentina. I guess I'll go for "She blinded me with science", only because I think it would have made a great addition to the "Weird science" movie soundtrack!
“She Blinded Me…” WAS the theme song for the very first episode of American sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory.” Then it was changed to be a custom-made song by another group. (Not sure if you know that American TV show or not!) Anyway, I think you made a fine choice! —Keith
The Big Bang Theory is super popular in South America too, and one of my daughter's favourite shows. We'll watch the series premiere again then! Thanks Keith!
Aw dang, I just went back and checked, and they have gone back and replaced the Dolby song with the one you know from the other 200 episodes. Darn it.
Your lyric IS better! I also thought I heard “hump” in there, but thought he said “goon,” which is nowhere near as fun! I guarantee you that Marcia will vote for this! I used to get so excited for “Come on Eileen,” apparently I have lost a good bit of my taste for it. Several of these songs are going that direction for me.
Your comment brings up an interesting question, as to why a band is so huge in the UK, and they have a giant hit here, but then no more…were those songs getting released in the US and failing to chart, or were they just not getting released over here? I don’t know if you know the answer to this, but you seem to know a lot!
Is “Come on Eileen” a dance club hit, by the way? I can see the Dolby song maybe being danceable…
Thanks, Keith
I think they released their stuff in the US. I mean, if you score a #1 song you think the record labels - even though they could be so stupid - would be getting more of your stuff out there. They had like one other song dip into the top 100 in the US, but I think just barely. Sometimes stuff takes off in one country and not in another for whatever reason. One of my favorite bands from the late 80s, Fairground Attraction (who just reunited!), had a #1 song in the UK but I rarely find anyone in the US who has heard of them. But for some odd reason they were big in Japan. And it's not like David Hasselhoff's records were ONLY released in Germany, they just seem to be the only weirdos that dig them.
I don't think it was big in the "new wave" dance clubs I was going to in the 80s. Those leaned much more heavily on Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, New Order, OMD, Erasure, Bauhaus, The Cure, etc.
There was a new mix of the Dexys' album done a couple of years ago, and here is the version of Come On Eileen. https://youtu.be/zzRr55RGYc4?si=T1u9mgW-fdj9zyjI
It's not hugely different but you can hear some more things in there that maybe gets buried in the original mix, like the banjo. The video is fun too because it goes through the years of the Dexys and the various looks. The whole overalls thing was just for that album, he pretty much changed the look of the band every album.
And to hear some more recent of their work, check out this really cool Joni Mitchell cover form 2016 - https://youtu.be/2c_7l9X7_RA?si=DoxNQxjS09OXKMz4
Took me a bit to get to this comment, but I wanted to have time to watch both videos! I really enjoyed the Eileen "retrospective" video with the new mix. Even with seeing the different years go by, it is hard to see the young Rowland in the current Rowland.
And the Mitchell cover is pretty cool, too. Thanks for sharing!
And I am not aware of Fairground Attraction, other than seeing you post about a show on Facebook. I shall have to seek out some of their music!
You must be correct about the releases. You get a #1 hit, of course you keep trying in that same market. So many of these UK bands that had only one monster US hit, I find out had 10+ hits in the UK. I wonder how many US artists who we consider legends are one-hit wonders in the UK? 🤔 Perhaps my friend El Waxo, who is listening from the UK can weigh in?
--Keith
Your science roots are STRONG! Now just waiting for your brother to come counteract your vote! A marching band version of “She Blinded Me…”? THAT is the opposite of synthpop, but I bet you made it work! —Keith