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Deni's avatar

She Blinded Me With Science shouldn't have even made this round. No way it should have beaten Dexy's, who put out the ultimate one-hit wonder of the 80s. Nena against Dexy's would have actually been a hard decision, this one is easy.

BTW - I know you mentioned in the first round that Nena was the name of the band and not the lead singer as we all thought when the song came out, but the band broke up in 1987 and lead singer Gabriele Kerner took on the name Nena as a solo artist. So she really is Nena and has been putting out records since 1989. (My Gen Z kid LOVES her and was digging around for her records when we were in Germany two summers ago)

Another interesting coincidence from singers in this round, Nena and Kim Wilde did a duet in the early 2000s. It is a re-recording of one of Nena's (the band) mid-80s songs.

https://youtu.be/l8_8oeGwfnQ?si=Xu4C22R6SBTcJeQa

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Deni's avatar

Oh, and Nena continues to chart in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Her last album in 2020 reached #3 in Germany.

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The 80s-est's avatar

So, over there, she's an enduring act, here, a one-hit wonder? Perspective is everything, I guess!

Oh, and the Nena/Kim collab does sound pretty great!

--Keith

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The 80s-est's avatar

I seriously doubt Dolby survives this round, but you never know!

So now Nena is NOT a band? Just when I had gotten used to the idea that Nena WAS a band!🤣

Listener John Booth had pointed out the Nena/Kim Wilde collaborations to me recently, and I was hanging onto it just in case they met in the next round, but I don't think that is likely to happen. But of course you knew about this already--you're a TOID machine! Thanks! --Keith

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Deni's avatar

Oops, sorry, should have let you do it on the show. But I figured no way Kim makes it to the next round so there wouldn't be another opportunity...

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John Booth's avatar

I've suggested an 80s-est Discord channel for sharing things we find like this, since these comment sections fade in the rearview pretty quickly.

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Deni's avatar

Yeah, but that means I'll have to learn how Discord works. Right after I figure out what it actually is.

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The 80s-est's avatar

This is something I plan on implementing after my return from vacation!

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The 80s-est's avatar

No, I agree with you , we weren't gonna get a shot at revealing it in round 3! --K

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Genevieve's avatar

I would've turned the episode off prematurely had I known you were going to pull that vaguely creepy Nestle commercial out of some dark, dusty corner of my brain where it should have died. (And isn't it just Nestle -- do they add an S to their own company name that's not there? I thought that was reserved for grocery stores, like "Kroger's.")

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The 80s-est's avatar

You're WELCOME! 😁

My guess is that they are trying to spell it "Nestle's" without the awkwardness of saying the apostrophe?

Then there are businesses who eschew the apostrophe completely, like "Menards," so OK, Menards, are we to conclude that this word is a plural??

And also, in recent years, the National Park Service has removed apostrophes, so "Pike's Peak" is now OFFICIALLY, "Pikes Peak," and I am officially pissed off about it.

Take care of that earworm for me!

--Keith

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Genevieve's avatar

As someone whose biggest reason for not wanting to change her name after marriage (other than, y'know, The Patriarchy) was because the new one has an apostrophe in it, I'm here to tell you: it's an anti-apostrophe world.

As for the earworm, please take it back, or we're in a fight.

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Rush's avatar

Does anyone else find themselves just randomly singing an 80s song more often now??? This morning my earworm is Take On Me. Thanks, A-ha!

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The 80s-est's avatar

My end-of-year Spotify stats are going to be staggeringly 80s-based. Like to an embarrassing extent! I mean, in past years, maybe 25% listening to some older stuff...now 95% and probably twice or three times the amount. And right now I have the Nestle's white chocolate theme lodged in my brain, for some reason... --Keith

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Rush's avatar

Hmm. Hard to imagine why that would be 🤔

🎶 Creeeeeeamy whi-hiiiiiiiite

Dreeeeeeamy whi-hiiiiiiiite 🎶

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The 80s-est's avatar

Try doing that live in one take, punching in the echo effects, kind of hitting the notes 🎶 , AND not cracking up! Podcasting is SO difficult!! 😝

Kudos to Joe for not completely losing it during that cold read !

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Chris Jacobs's avatar

I would vote completely differently if voting for my favorite or the better song. It's tough to remember the goal here -- "which song is more "80s"?"

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The 80s-est's avatar

Thank you, Chris, for sticking to the assignment! You may dislike Sly Fox or The Jets, but their 80s sound is undeniable! --Keith

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Aug 15
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The 80s-est's avatar

I love that mom is listening, AND singing along! 🤗

Thanks for sharing, Dr. Janet! And it is looking like Eurythmics will breeze through to round 3!

--Keith

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