Tones On Tail - Pop - 1984

Me and the family are getting ready to go on a picnic, so I need to make it short tonight.  I first heard this band on a car commercial in the mid-aughts.  I had heard OF them, but never heard them until they had been "commercialized."  Sad.

But, straight from Wikipedia, if you don't already know...

Tones on Tail was a musical side project of Daniel Ash of the gothic rock group Bauhaus started in 1982, along with art school friend, flatmate and Bauhaus "roadie" Glenn Campling. The band's name is a reference to the way calibration tones were recorded on the "tail" of reel-to-reel tape. After the breakup of Bauhaus in 1983, they were joined by drummer Kevin Haskins, and became a full-time concern for all three members. Their music was described by one critic as "doom-and-dance-pop." The band disbanded in 1984, and Ash and Haskins went on to form Love and Rockets with former Bauhaus bassist David J.

I know that they released a collection in 1998 called "Everything" that would be the ultimate in expanded editions.  But, I have a problem with that.  When I want an expanded edition, I want it to gather all of the relevant material from that particular era/session/year.  Not EVERYTHING.  So, I've broken this one down and back to the original release with the remix and just a couple extras.  Dull, I know, but this is how I would prefer it.

Anyway, off to the park with a knapsack full of ham & swiss sandwiches and potato salad.  83 degrees out, and the sky is clear as a bell and deep blue.  We should have some fun!

Tones On Tail - Pop! - 1984 

U2 - POP - 1997

I don't always listen to U2.  But when I do, I make sure it's Pop.

I will admit, I haven't been the biggest U2 fan in the new millennium.  They have their moments, and I tend to stick with their hits. But, when they recreated themselves in the 90s, I was their biggest fan. Achtung, Zooropa, Pop.  I loved them all. (Okay, Passengers was alright, but a little weird.)

I liked Pop a lot because of the electronica at the time.  But, as time has passed, the electronica has become dated, but the songwriting is classic and legend.  Every album track is a masterpiece.  Best ones are If God Would, Staring Sun, Last Night, Gone, and Wake Up.  The b-sides aren't bad.  I like the Sinead O'Connor duet, the Willie Nelson duet, and their supercharged version of Pop Muzik (When the build up breaks into music, it's like an adrenaline rush.)

When this album came out, I was managing a restaurant chain and worked with my wife and a large group of our friends (who we still talk to today, thanks to Facebook.)  We'd go dancing at a club called Bricktop, then 1421, and we'd have a blast.  I tie this album to that time in my life (Along with Wild Mood Swings) as a fantastic period of freedom and fun.  I'll always remember this album fondly....

I mixed it up a bit, b-sides here and there, but I got them all.  I left the Skysplitter Dub of I'm Not Your Baby on here, rather than the regular release, as the mix seemed to fit the overall feel of the album better.  When I go to release my mix disc of this album, I'll put the original on that.

Goodbye
It's emotional
Goodnight
I'll be up with the sun
Are you still holding on
I'm not coming down....

U2 - POP - Disc 1 - 1997       U2 - POP - Disc 2 - 1997