Episodes

The 80's were famous for soundtracks. Some of the biggest and best of all time came from back then. We explore a list created by JoBlo, which rounds up some of the usual suspects but also provides a few surprises. Let's get i...

This episode is a very special two-bands-for-for-the-price-of-one conversation. Bourgeois Tagg. Does this band ring a bell for you? We would be surprised if it they do, but their song "I Don't Mind At All" is fantastic, and w...

This song and album was one of the bigggest from the 80's, as well as the most controversial for its use of an anti- gay slur. Mark Knopfler was and is one of the best guitarsts around. We delve into all of it. Connect with u...

As a member of The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson wrote many of the world's most famous surf songs, despite being afraid of the water and not knowing how to swim. After he'd stopped performing with them live, he went on to write so...

This is a little different discussion than our usual fare. Blaine has recently rekindled his love of CD's, due to the audio limitations of the most common formats like MP3 and streaming, so we talk about all of it, as well as...

Cyndi Lauper is a phenomenon. Her first album, "She's So Unusual," sold millions of copies, and her songs continue to be some of the most memorable and influential of all time. There is much more to her story, however, and th...

This time around, we're discovering another fun internet list, found for us by Blaine. We love these things because A) they're super fun, and B) they take no research or preparation. Just sit down, read through the list, and ...

As we've discussed before, Kiss are a difficult band of which to be a fan. Todd is a fan, however, and has many of their albums and a T-shirt. Blaine is indifferent about them. In this fun and hilarious episode, we dive deepl...

In this episode, we discuss the songs from the 80's that spent the most weeks at the #1 spot on the pop charts. Be sure to click down to our playlist to listen to the full versions of these great songs. Connect with us at tap...

Kiss are one of the biggest bands of all time. Are they one of the best? Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but they're certainly one of the most interesting, and we join their story at what is arguably the heavi...

Paul Simon is one of most venerable and some would say inscrutable songwriters out there today. After a string of hits in the 60's and 70's, he was coming off of a couple of unsuccessful albums in the 80's. Looking for inspir...

Bronski Beat were a synth pop trio from London who may have been fairly short-lived, but were very influential, especially with the gay community at the time. They were very politically active, and ahead of their time. Their ...

There were two musical synthesizers that revolutionized the way music was made in the late 1970's and all through the 80's, the Synclavier and the Fairlight. The least expensive model cost the equivalent of a small house, and...

Bobby McFerrin is one of the most famous musicians on the planet. He's been a singer, a conductor, a music ambassador, and even a pop star. But he's also written one of the most polarizing one-hit wonder songs of all time, wh...

In this episode, Blaine guides us through 10 hit sonts with controverisal or problematic subject matter that wouldn't be released today. This list came from one of his infamous trips down the proverbial rabbit hole. Connect w...

Formed in Los Angeles in 1983 and currently based in Portland, Animotion have one of the best one-hit wonder songs of the 80's, and are still around performing and releasing new albums to this day. We're here to tell the stor...

In this very special episode, Blaine explores a few songs by Billy Joel that he feels best show Billy's masterful songwriting. We think you'll enjoy it. RELATED LINKS: Our short but sweet Billy Joel playlist, on Spotify Billy...

Duran Duran are one of the biggest and best bands of the 80's, and we thought they would be perfect subjects for continuing our second anniversary celebration. We invited our friend Russ to help and add insight, as we delved ...

Can you believe it's our second anniversary episode? And our fiftieth? We're celebrating both, and we have a very special guest who makes an appearance. We're discussing our namesake movie, TapeHeads, a fairly obscure 1988 cu...

Suzanne Vega is someone you should know about, if you aren't aware of her already. We explore her musical connections and collaborators, including the illustrious Mitchell Froom and inimitable Tchad Blake. We also discuss the...

https://audiophix.com/posts/10-terrible-number-one-songs-1980s-01j306841kwf

The Liverpool band A Flock of Seagulls had one of the biggest hit songs (and weirdest haircuts) of 1982, which puts them up against some serious competition. Quite an interesting band and story. This one was by request. Also ...

One of our favorite subjects here on TapeHeads is bands at a point of major change in their sound or careers, and ZZ Top's 1983 album Eliminator (which sold 11 million copies) is a perfect example. Footlose is a 1984 movie ab...

Howard Jones is someone who you may not think you know, but you definitely know his songs. In this episode, we take a deep dive into his music, and you may be surprised at the number of coincidental connections and through-li...