BOOTH ANNOUNCER GARY OWENS:
...and the cow was returned to its rightful owner.
And that's the latest from S-P-M-M news...
fast, up-to-the-minute, completely fake
and proud of it. Now stand by for
fast, up-to-the-minute, completely fake
and proud of it. Now stand by for
F L A S H B A C K
with IRIS WEST
on the station that's #1 for music and fun - S-P-M-M!
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
(COLD SHOW OPEN)
"Cheap Thrills" - Sia featuring Sean Paul
(Mar./Apr. 2016, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100,
#1 Australia Dance/#1 in 18 other countries)
(Mar./Apr. 2016, highest chart pos. #1 Hot 100,
#1 Australia Dance/#1 in 18 other countries)
Starting off my first show with "Cheap Thrills"...
...that was Australian pop artist Sia along with Jamaican singer
Sean Paul doing their reggae-tinged international hit from 2016,
number one on the Australian dance chart, number one on
the U.S. pop chart and number one in 18 other countries.
If you're catching my simulcast on
YouTube, you watched the retro-
style music video produced for
the song that's a flash back
to the boomer glory years
of American Bandstand,
The Buddy Deane Show
and other music & dance
television shows of the 60s.
Hi, I'm Iris West, Barry Allen's better half on
the DC Comics superhero TV series The Flash.
Welcome to my first official appearance as
a member of The Shady Bunch DJ team!
My new S-P-M-M radio show...
FLASH BACK with IRIS WEST
is blogcast live from S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City,
home of The Flash (my b.f.f. Barry Allen).
I bring you the cool sounds of Soul, R&B, Disco, Funk, Club,
Dance-pop, Hip Hop, Mainstream rap and Urban Contemporary -
boogie beats and slow jam hits from the 1970s to the present.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
THE VIDEO NOW!
S-P-M-M is Retrosonic Radio in Futuresonic
Stereo Surround, so let's stay up on our feet
and groove to the beat with our next number.
It's a double dose of girl power and another
single that charted in Australia and peaked
in the top 5 on the U.S. Dance chart. It was
recorded by a petite pixie from "The O.C."
in California who made a name for herself
in the mid 80s with a string of hits in the
dance-pop, new wave, freestyle and
Hi-NRG categories. Her name is
in California who made a name for herself
in the mid 80s with a string of hits in the
dance-pop, new wave, freestyle and
Hi-NRG categories. Her name is
Stacey Q and this is-- "Don't
Make A Fool Of Yourself."
"Don't Make A Fool Of Yourself" - Stacey Q
(Mar./Apr. 1988, highest chart pos. #1 Hot Dance Music
Maxi-Single Sales/#4 Hot Dance Club/#66 Hot 100/#75 Cash Box)
That was Southern California pop singer Stacey Q and
"Don't Make A Fool Of Yourself," a song she co-wrote
and a hot club sound from the spring of 1988.
Iris West behind the mic on S-P-M-M, the station with personality,
and the girls are running wild on this first edition of
FLASH BACK
WITH IRIS WEST.
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
Up next, here's a Bronx trio that rose to become one of the leading
acts of the freestyle movement. They're Sweet Sensation,
and this is their first single-- "Hooked On You!"
"Hooked On You" - Sweet Sensation
(Feb. 1987, highest chart pos. #64 Hot 100/#82 Cash Box)
If you're just tuning in, I'm your hostess with the mostest,
Iris West, from the DC comics superhero TV series The Flash.
I'm sitting in the broadcast booth high atop Shady Towers with a cup
of java that my sweetie Barry Allen just brought me from CC Jitters.
We're right in the middle of a
7-in-a-row non-stop jam called
FLASH BACK...
checking out the funky grooves that
were popular on the radio and in the
clubs of Central City, National City,
Star City and in your city.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
Don't touch that dial on your radio or on
your telephone. You are about to hear a
your telephone. You are about to hear a
dance floor filler laid down by an electro-
funk band from Kentucky that had a string
of hits in the 80s. This one has a nice ring
to it. Midnight Star with -- "Operator!"
"Operator" - Midnight Star
(Jan./Feb. 1985, highest chart pos. #1 R&B,
#15 Dance/#18 Hot 100/#19 Cash Box)
That was Midnight Star dialing the right number for sure with "Operator."
It was the funky band's only top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100
and their biggest hit on the R&B chart, lasting 5 weeks
at number one in late '84 and early '85.
I'm dedicating this next song to my friend Mick Rory aka Heat Wave,
the antihero who burns holes in bad guys every week on DC's
Legends of Tomorrow. Check it out. It's another fantastic
electro-funk sound, this one by a Canadian duo.
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
They call themselves Chromeo and here's a taste of
millennial blue-eyed soul as the boys perform-- "Hot Mess!"
"Hot Mess" - Chromeo
(Mar./Apr. 2011, from Sept. 2010 album Business Casual)
From Montreal, that was the def duo
known as Chromeo with their nu-disco
single "Hot Mess," a cut from the act's
2010 major label debut album for
Atlantic, Business Casual.
CLICK TO START
THE VIDEO NOW!
THE VIDEO NOW!
You're clubbin' with Iris on S-P-M-M,
where all the cool tunes come to play,
and here's one of the hottest sounds
of the 2000s. It's Danish pop singer
Christine Milton with her biggest
hit-- Superstar!"
hit-- Superstar!"
"Superstar" - Christine Milton
(Nov./Dec. 2002, highest chart pos. #1 Denmark/#15 Norway)
From late 2002 that was Danish pop singer Christine Milton
with the original version of "Superstar," a record that spent
seven weeks at #1 on the Danish chart and was certified
Platinum. The following year, British R&B songstress
Jamelia released a cover of the song and it
turned it into an international hit.
Darn it! Shady Del Knight is giving me the wrap-up sign.
It's time for me turn off the table, drop the mic...
walk on outta here and go running into the waiting arms
of my sweet, caring, devoted boyfriend Barry Allen.
CLICK TO START THE VIDEO NOW!
I hope you enjoyed my first complete show. Stick around, Coming up on the B side
of news, Shady Del Knight will unveil his version of the annual A To Z Challenge,
and I'll be back in a Flash with more cool street beats & club jams on S-P-M-M.
Girl power ruled on this edition, and to play us off, here's one last zesty zinger -
Prince protégé Vanity and "Under The Influence," a top 10 hit on the R&B
and Dance Club charts in 1986. Now this is Iris West inviting you
to FLASH BACK with me again next time. See you then!
"Under The Influence" - Vanity
(May/June 1986, highest chart pos. #6 Hot Dance Club Play,
#9 Hot Black Singles/#56 Hot 100/#77 Cash Box)
Wow, you picked recent music and I still didn't recognize any of it!
ReplyDeleteHi, Alex!
DeleteYou grab the Early Bird spot again this week, good buddy. Thanks for hustling over during the morning!
Yes, whether I post old songs or newer ones, I've noticed that most are usually unfamiliar to the majority of my commenting readers, even songs that were substantial national hits. The songs and/or videos by Stacey Q, Sweet Sensation, Midnight Star and Vanity were all biggies on MTV, VH1, Soul Train and on the MTV style station where I worked in the 80s.
At least you should know the character Iris West from The Flash, right? Thanks again for being first to arrive and enjoy the rest of your week, good buddy Alex!
What a sweetie Iris is. Not to mention...quite lovely!
ReplyDeleteLots of techno today, Shady! Made me a bit twitchy, but I had to tap my foot to the beat.
Hi Cheryl-Lee!
DeleteThanks for tuning in show #1 of Flash Back with Iris West, dear friend! That's actress Candice Patton in the role of Iris on The Flash. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, and raised in Plano, Texas, Candice, who turns age 34 a couple of months from now, co-founded, along with Arrowverse co-stars from The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow, the online global collective Shethority ("She + Authority"), described as "a positive place for women and the feminine to inspire, empower, and share." In addition, Candice and other actresses toured U.S. military bases in Kuwait and visited some 12,000 U.S. military personnel stationed there. She's part of the solution.
I'm glad the old school and more recent jams had you tapping your feet to the beat. Thanks again for your kind visit and comment, dear friend Cheryl-Lee!
That's odd... I left a comment here earlier today and now it's gone! Like Alex, I didn't recognize any of the songs you featured today.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kelly!
DeleteThanks for your willingness to try... try again, dear friend! I don't know why your comments have been disappearing lately. It really bothers me, because I value your friendship and look forward to seeing you and reading them. I have not touched my settings. Everything's thew same as it was when I launched Shady's Place in 2018.
It's a grand slam for me and a win for you if I managed to post 7 songs that are brand new to your ears. They are all familiar to me as the back of my hand, and I was eager to share them with you. I hope you found a new earworm to play in your noggin on repeat throughout the month of April. :)
Thanks again, dear friend Kelly!
I enjoyed that first song and the video was funny especially the beginning. I know many of these 80s tunes since i danced to them in many clubs. The hair and the outfits just reek 80s...makes me laugh because I thought the fashion would never age. Even that newer song feels 80s retro. The last one, I seriously thought she had vampire teeth at the beginning but that is just her teeth. Very bright and big. This was when music videos were at their heyday. I am trying to write quick since I should be in bed. I have to get up at 5 and face the traffic again.
ReplyDeleteHi, Birgit!
DeleteThank you very much for staying up late to visit Shady's Place and leave another terrific comment, dear friend! I want you to know that I shared the sad news with Mrs. Shady about your wonderful pooch Wallace. She sends her sincere condolences. As time goes by, I will revisit your post often and gaze at your lovable dog who suffers no longer.
I'm glad you got a kick out of the first video by Sia and Sean, flashing us back to the years of black & white and music and dance TV shows of the 50s and 60s like American Bandstand, Buddy Deane, Lloyd Thaxton and many others. The intro to the song was very well done, showing how often technical difficulties with the switcher or finding the correct film or tape to run left TV personalities hanging, staring awkwardly into the camera after they were finished talking, with periods of dead air before the director could finally cut away from them and get the song playing.
I'm happy to know you danced to some of these tunes in clubs. So did I! Yessum, in Iris West's series, you will routinely get to check out the clothing and hairstyles of the 80s because most of the songs on her play list come from that decade.
The showender is done by Vanity, a singing star discovered and developed by Prince. Vanity (real name Denise Matthews), is from your neck of the woods, BB - Niagara Falls, Ontario. Sadly, she had a short and difficult life. She was turned into a sex symbol by Prince and found success as Vanity. Believe it or not, Prince originally wanted to call his girl group "The Hookers" and call lead singer Denise "Vagina." Vagina and The Hookers - what was he thinking? Denise refused to go that far, and Prince settled for the name Vanity and called her group Vanity Six. After her years of stardom singing sex charged hits like "Under The Influence," "Nasty Girl," "Undress" and "Drive Me Wild," Denise turned away from the music scene and became an evangelist and born again Christian. Years of drug abuse took their toll on her health and she died young six years ago at age 57.
I wish you safe travels to work, dear friend BB. Thanks again for making time for me. I hope your heart will soon mend in the wake of your loss. You will always remember dear Wallace and so will I. Bless you!
Hello Shady! I'm back from Chi-town and even had 2 days back at the hospital. Whew, I was tired last night! Anyway, I'm glad to check in today with you and although the only song I knew was the first one, it was one I've always liked! Those 80's flashbacks rocked the big hair, crazy clothes and vibes of the 80's. I have some catching up to do on my blog so I'm off and running on this Thursday. Have a good weekend Shady!
ReplyDeleteHi, YaYa!
DeleteThanks for coming to Iris West's first official platter party on SPMM, dear friend! I'm happy to know that you made it back from Chicago safely and even put in some work hours at the horse-pistol.
It surprises me that you know the 2016 song but don't know the six older songs, even though they include a top 10 hit and two chart-toppers. Yessum, I am well aware that you pay as much attention to the hair and clothing styles as the music in the videos.
I'm so happy to see you, and thank you for making time to drop by in the middle of your busy day. I hope your next post reports sister Midge feeling well and includes pictures of Hope and Annabelle happily playing together. Enjoy the rest of your week and weekend, dear friend YaYa!
I love Sia, her songs are so good. I miss watching The Flash it was such a good show.
ReplyDeleteStacey Q is a new one for me. I don't remember hearing that song before.
I remember Hooked on You though. That was a good one.
Midnight Star, ah yes, I remember them.
Hot Mess is a new one for me.
Vanity, I remember her and Vanity 6. I think I first heard them while watching Purple Rain but I think she had left the group before that and another singer took her place.
Have a great week Shady.
Hi, Mary!
DeleteThanks for coming by, dear friend!
First, I want to apologize and let you know that I found another of your comments in my spam folder this morning. It's a comment you kindly left on a post in late March. I published it this morning and replied. Again, I'm so sorry this is happening. From now on, I'm going to check my spam bin more often.
I'm happy that you are the second person to know and like Sia, and that you also enjoyed watching the superhero TV series The Flash, as do I and Mrs. Shady.
You seem to be in the right age range to know more 80s songs than some of my other readers. That's great. "Hooked On You" was a biggie on MTV, VH1, Friday Night Videos and on the MTV style station where I worked in the 80s. So were the vids by Stacey Q, Midnight Star and Vanity. I'm pleased that you remember Vanity and Vanity 6, the acts developed by Prince. Vanity turned away from the sexy music and found religion, but drug abuse took its toll and she died young at age 57, another casualty of the pop music business.
Thanks again for your kind visit and marvelous comment, dear friend Mary. Please give my good buddy Falcor a pat and a treat and I'll see you at your place this weekend!
Hello! You had me fooled with that first opening. Had to chuckle at the girl's wide-eyed excitement at being featured. I didn't recognize any of the songs but they certainly do have a good beat and you can dance to them. This is the kind of playlist I would put on when working in the studio or when walking our friend Benny. I have been known to dance in place as he does his sniffing routine.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful rest of your week. You know what I'll be doing!
Hi, Janet!
DeleteWelcome, welcome, welcome, dear friend!
I'm happy to know you got a kick out of the first video by Sia and Sean, flashing us back to the era of black & white TV shows and one in particular - "Dance Stage USA" - clearly intended to remind us of Dick Clark's American Bandstand and similar syndicated and local music shows for teenagers. I love how the host and the wide-eyed girl you mentioned get "hung up" for a few awkward seconds after they're done talking and before the camera cuts away and the song begins to play. Such technical difficulties were common at the time. Another takeaway from that video is the absolute truth that young people were often nervous and self-conscious appearing on TV. It was a big deal back then. Today, when every kid can broadcast to the world from his own home, young people are far less dazzled by the camera.
I'm happy that you enjoyed the beats in Iris West's song lineup, even though all seven are brand new to you. That's a win-win, because the last thing I want to do is bore you with a steady diet of hits that you've heard a million times before. Yessum, this tuneage is suitable for walking Benny. Think of all the calories you could burn dancing in place while he's sniffing away at the lawns up and down the block.
Thanks again for joining the fun with Iris. She'll be back in a Flash with another edition of her new show, so stay tuned. Enjoy the rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow, dear friend Janet!
Hi Shady,
ReplyDeleteI'm feeling a bit better and thought it was time to return. I'm not contagious anymore and I'm safe for the Shady Dell! :)
WOW! You have some of my favourite songs and other songs I haven't heard in ages. Thanks for walking me down memory lane, and thank you for putting a smile on my face.
I like this show today. Iris West is awesome and I may have to check out "The Flash."
Have a great Thankful Thursday dear friend.
Hi, Jessica Marie!
DeleteWelcome back to Shady's Place, dear friend!
I'm happy to know you are feeling better and in the mood to groove to Iris West's Flash Back tuneage. I'm pleased that you enjoyed the songs she played on her first show. Yessum, I think you will find the Netflix series The Flash a pleasant escape from the harsh realities of daily life in this world of ours. Mrs. Shady and I have been watching it for years. Two of its characters will be regular presenters at Shady's Place - Iris West and Cisco Ramon. Stay tuned!
Thanks again for dropping by, dear friend JM, and enjoy the rest of your week and weekend!
The "Cheap Thrills" video was a great parody of 1950s TV dance shows, with the square host and the teenager who doesn't quite know what to say when a microphone is thrust into her face. One odd bit stands out though. There's an interracial couple in the background. I think in 1959 THAT would have raised as many eyebrows as any wild dance moves. And the wild dance couple themselves are faceless. I feel there's something that's over my head here, but that's true with a lot of videos.
ReplyDeleteAs for those other videos, most are from the 1980s. It seems to me that was the era when Top-40 pop finally caught up with, and possibly surpassed, more straightforward rock in terms of outlandish imagery. Of course, video itself had a lot to do with that.
That's all I got.
Hi, Kirk!
DeleteThanks for swinging over, good buddy! I'm happy to have you tuned-in as newspaper reporter and superheroine Iris West, who is two-timing Barry Allen by smooching The Flash behind his back, presents the first installment of her new SPMM radio series Flash Back.
I'm glad you appreciate that first video by Sia. I don't know where you came up with the year 1959. To me, the vid seems to be referencing the TV music & dance shows for teenagers that proliferated in the mid 60s. By that time, black couples and even mixed race couples were showing up on such programs. Regarding the mystery dancers with faces covered, Wiki explains as follows: << In the video, a faceless couple wearing wigs (two dancers Minn Vo and Stefanie Klausmann), which have become part of Sia's signature look, win a dance contest on a retro 1960s black-and-white TV show reminiscent of American Bandstand or The Buddy Deane Show, using visual effects to recreate the look of early 1960s television cameras. >> I think the unknown cool dancers are supposed to be transported back to the 60s from the future, showing the kids in the studio the moves that couples will perform in the next century (on Tik Tok), kinda like Marty McFly introducing 1955 teenagers to rock & roll at the high school dance in Back To The Future.
Iris came up with an exciting mix of styles and genres for her first show. The Sweet Sensation trio was one of the leading acts of the wildly popular Freestyle Movement of the mid and late 80s. Midnight Star gave us an example of Electro-Funk, another huge trend in music during the decade. Vanity, a discovery of Prince, who at first intended to name her "Vagina" and dub her group "The Hookers," but thought the better of it, gave us this gem of 80s R&B/dance-pop with the hit "Under The Influence," an extremely hot request at my MTV station. Viewers couldn't get enough of the video. I needed to redub the tape a dozen times because our playback decks kept wearing them out.
Thanks again for coming by and have a wonderful weekend, good buddy Kirk!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up that your posts weren't pushing through for email delivery. I've been so wrapped up in things this week and haven't really been able to give my attention to Blogosphere activity.
I enjoyed your music line-up. The only song that I can say with 100% certainty that I know is "Cheap Thrills". I thought for sure I'd know the songs from the mid-80s that you shared but somehow these tunes passed my ears. I reckon I could've heard them and I just totally forgot. I do recall the period between 1985-1988 being a wild ride with my work schedule then rounding things up with motherhood mid 1988. I loved watching the music videos. It's so nice seeing girls being girls who are cute and sweet. Thanks for peaking my ear with these lost-to-me tune treasures form the 80s.
I truly appreciate your faithful visits to CAAC this month, dear friend. I'm sorry I haven't been on top of my game. I hope your weekend is lovely. We had snow showers this morning. It's a chilly Saturday. I think Mother Nature lost her mind!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteThanks for coming over to catch Iris West's first SPMM radio show, dear friend! I'm very happy to see you. Your support is very important to me.
It surprises me that you and a couple of other friends know the 2016 song by Sia but don't know these hits from the 1980s. Yessum, your explanation makes sense. If you were a working woman and then a young mother during that period, it's likely you didn't have much time to watch MTV and VH1 and stay up late to watch NBC's Friday Night Videos as I did. Keep in mind that I worked until late at night during many of my years in the news business. As a night owl, I was immersed in the club scene and got to know the music played at the venues. Many of those songs will be showing up on the playlists of Iris West, Thea Queen and Malcolm Winters. Yessum, there are lots of cute and stylish young women in these videos. With all the great vids produced for broadcast, and artists like these looking their best in them, I have a particular fondness for the 80s and often refer to it as the last great decade in mewsic.
What??? Snow showers up your way? That surprises me. It's been on the chilly side here the last couple of days, but winter is definitely losing its grip on Florida now. It is a joy to visit CAAC, Cathy. Your art dazzles me, your cartoons and memes make me smile, and I always learn some new recording artists and tunes during my visits. You are also a friendly, down to earth hostess. Those are the reasons why I love to hang out with you. :)
Thanks again for making time for a visit, dear friend Cathy. Enjoy your the rest of your weekend and I'll see you at your place tamale!
Tom,
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that we got snow showers on Saturday. The mountains got a good accumulation. It was easily several inches, maybe even a foot or two in the higher elevations. I think at one point they had he main road going across the mountain closed due to ice. This sort of weather reminded me when I was a small kid in southern WV. It was uncommon for it to be chilly for Easter and I do remember a few of them where we had snow resting on the daffodils. There wasn't any egg hunts outdoor on those occasions. lol
You probably won't believe this but I don't think I ever watched MTV. Probably because it came on so late and in those early days I'd often crash before 11pm on the weekends. I never was a night owl kind of person. I saved the links of these with the intention of using them in a series "Lost-to-Me 80s Songs" at some point.
I certainly appreciate your daily visits and I'm delighted you like my recreated artwork. It's taking a lot out of my time since I didn't get started on these earlier in the year. I have this nearly everything done this week and after that I don't know how well I'll do to stay ahead of the pack. This is going to be super challenging to say the least.
Have a good week, my friend!
Hi, Cathy!
DeleteI'm delighted that you came back over to chat, dear friend. Thank you!
Mrs. Shady was just remarking this morning that it has been years since it was this cold in Florida this late in the spring. That was around 9 am. Since that time, it has warmed up considerably, so much so that we have been running the air conditioner all afternoon! :) I think winter's on the run, and this time for good.
I am very pleased to learn that you are bookmarking these videos for a possible future 4M feature at CAAC on lost hits of the 80s. You will find many excellent videos that were produced during the 80s, the glory years of MTV and Vh1.
You make me smile, dear friend. You put yourself to this A to Z test every year. It's like Christmas shopping. You know you need to get it done, and that it would be a good idea to do it months in advance before the crunch, but something always seems to come up and most of us wait until the very last minute, and then need to scurry. You have already proven yourself to me many times over. You are a gifted artist and a true friend. It doesn't matter what you post or when. I know I will enjoy myself at CAAC.
Hey guess what? I have an A to Z Challenge post of my own coming up tomorrow morning!!! BOLO for it. Have a wonderful week and I'll see you tamale, dear friend Cathy!