Even though 1983 was thirty long years ago, it seems just like it was yesterday to me. It was the year I truly discovered music. It was also the year I discovered skater bangs, parachute pants and Clearasil.
Between 1983-1984, teen angst was running rampant in my weird man-child body. I was filled with lots of burgeoning hormones. I was trying to find a sense of purpose and a sense of self. And like any obnoxious pre-teen, I looked at the world with an immense amount of wide-eyed wonderment.
I spent countless hours enthralled by MTV … you know, back when they actually played music videos. Entranced, I would watch before school, after school and endlessly during every waking weekend moment. It was then that I discovered my beloved B-52’s — a group I was instantly drawn to because I felt an oddly intriguing kindred bond with them. They were weird, colorful and kitschy, as were their gorgeous harmonies. And the fact that my peers mocked them only made me like them more. I remember the exact moment when “Legal Tender” popped on my radar. It was an obscenely hot summer day and I was lying on the couch under a blanket because I had cranked the air conditioning down to an obscenely frigid, meat locker temperature. After the video played, I immediately called my cousin, who worked at Record Shop in the mall at the time, and told her to purchase the B’s cassette for me. Her response, “Why would you listen to those freaks?” I should have known then that the term freak was relative and that I would still be listening to them thirty years later. I’ve been blessed to meet the group several times and every time I tell them the same thing: “You guys made growing up infinitely easier.”
Along with The B-52’s, I always claimed Romeo Void to be MY group. I discovered them about thirty seconds after The B’s. I heard them on Casey Kasem’s weekly Top 40 show, where one of their songs lasted a mere two weeks on the chart. I wasn’t just a fan; I was their #1 fan. In Des Moines, Iowa. (Uh, in my head I somehow singlehandedly put them on the map. In Des Moines.) I thought lead singer Debora Iyall was cool as shit. And her band mates were easy on the eyes too. They all had shaggy, funky new wave hair and most of them wore guy-liner. Moussed hair + men in make-up + unapologetic siren lead singer = bliss. I loved how Debora would growl, snarl and/or belt her way through any saxophone-infused song … a song she likely had a hand in writing. “A Girl In Trouble” is a close second to “Legal Tender” as my favorite song of all time. Years later when I met her, I tried to explain how she was a teenage idol of mine. We bonded over copious amounts of Spanish food, sparkling conversation and my complete and total adoration for her. She was just as wholly mesmerizing as I would have expected. We’ve since become buds — and all is right with the world.
Both Romeo Void and The B’s never really found mainstream success in the early ‘80’s. College radio cherished them, as did the artsy-fartsy new wave crowd. While I was busy wearing out both of their albums, I gained a particular affinity for ABBA, who by 1983 were in the midst of calling it quits. A solo effort by one of the members, Frida, however, resonated with me … and apparently the rest of the universe. From the minute I heard the tune “I Know There’s Something Going On”, I was hooked by its hook. Frida formed an alliance with Phil Collins and, at the same time, found a way to distance herself from ABBA’s poptart sound. The video found heavy rotation on MTV as the song gained popularity. The single sold 3.5 million copies worldwide, which is approximately the number of times I’ve listened to the song. It’s firmly entrenched as my #3 most favorite song of all time.
Somewhere along the way, my love of music suffered a case of arrested development. CDs by The B’s and Romeo Void have never left my car, not even once. And Frida’s song is at the top of my iPod’s “Most Popular” playlist. I always like groups that were just the slightest bit outside the fringe. Yeah, the world discovered Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Prince in earnest during that same timeframe … and while I liked them too, I’m proud to have always gravitated just a little left of center.