#the 1980s

November 12, 1984. Like a Virgin, the second studio album by Madonna, is released.

Following the success of her self-titled debut album, Madonna wanted to become the record producer of her next album. However, her label was not ready to give her the artistic freedom and she chose Nile Rodgers instead to produce the album. And the rest is history.

Happy 31st anniversary to this masterpiece of an album!

The following commentary is from Richard McDuffie, a super cool music historian who writes in the Facebook page Music is My Boyfriend:

November 4, 1987. The Lion and the Cobra, the debut studio album by Sinéad O'Connor, is released. O'Connor, age 20, recorded the album while heavily pregnant with her first child. The photograph of O'Connor on the album cover was taken by Haysi Fantayzee member Kate Garner. The covers of the United States and Canada issues differed from the European release, as it was decided a more subdued pose would present a “softer” image of O'Connor. The first single, “Troy”, was released in 1987. It peaked at #8 in the Netherlands and #12 in Belgium. The second single was “Mandinka”. The video for “Mandinka” was shown heavily after debuting January 24, 1988 on 120 Minutes on MTV. The single was a mainstream pop hit in the UK, peaking at #17 in the singles chart, as well as #6 in her native Ireland. “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” debuted in May 1988 on the same show, featuring a rap interlude by MC Lyte. The album charted worldwide, reaching #27 in the United Kingdom for 20 weeks, #4 in New Zealand for 13 weeks, #37 in Australia for 21 weeks, #12 in Switzerland for 6 weeks, #52 in Germany for 3 weeks, #37 in Sweden for 2 weeks, #4 in The Netherlands for 43 weeks and #36 on the US Billboard Top 200, staying on the charts for 38 for weeks. The album featured prominent session musicians John Reynolds on drums, former Adam and the Ants guitarist Marco Pirroni, former Japan guitarist Rob Dean and Mike Clowes from Friction Groove on keyboards. The title of the album is from Psalm 91:13 “you will tread upon the lion and cobra”, and the track “Never Get Old” opens with an Irish language recital of Psalm 91 by singer Enya. Sinéad O'Connor’s debut, The Lion and the Cobra, was a sensation upon its 1987 release, and it remains a distinctive record, finding a major talent striving to achieve her own voice. Like many debuts, it’s entirely possible to hear her influences, from Peter Gabriel to Prince and contemporary rap, but what’s striking about the record is how she synthesizes these into her own sound – an eerie, expansive sound heavy on atmosphere and tortured passion. If the album occasionally sinks into its own atmospheric murk a little too often, she pulls everything back into focus with songs as bracing as the hard-rocking “Mandinka” or the sexy hip-hop of “I Want Your (Hands on Me).” Still, those ethereal soundscapes are every bit as enticing as the direct material, since “Troy,” “Jackie,” and “Jerusalem” are compelling because of their hushed, quiet intensity. It’s not a perfect album, since it can succumb to uneven pacing, but it’s a thoroughly impressive debut – and it’s all the more impressive when you realize she only topped it with its immediate successor, before losing all focus.

October 1st’s paper started with something I covered way in the beginning, the Tylenol Murders. 

You don’t hear too many stories about women killing police officers, let alone someone stabbing a police officer. Also I can’t imagine the phrase “gone berserk” used in a newspaper today. I can’t find anything about Addie Hardy. 

omg, the rod that won employee of the month at the Springfield Nuclear Plant was on the loose. 

I wonder where the coffee shop was at JCPenney in the old Coliseum Mall. I saw that JCPenney still operates a (modern) coffee shop at one location in Hurst, Texas. 

Before we started using the term “ATM Machine”, ATM’s used to be called all sorts of cutsey names. Ours was called “Beacon”, and I still remember my dad going to the one on Woodland Road and I would wait in the car and watch him.

I didn’t know that Thalhimers sold electronics. That clock radio was originally $55! And we complain about the prices of things now!

Just posting because I love that little Western Store logo.

Yeah, newspaper, tell all the creeps what subdivision the little girl lives in.

Man,Golden Goat. There’s something I haven’t thought of since I was like, six. My family never used it, but I remember seeing them when I was really little.

This ad was amazing — until I saw they spelled JCPenney wrong. 

The Village Shops at Kingsmill in Williamsburg is apparently nearly all vacant and looking for new development. That place was a poop hole when I went to community college down the street from here like, 18 years ago. 

I can’t tell if the illustrations for this Lou Smith’s grocery store are charming or disturbing. Much like the “Kroger People” of today. 

Big fail over at Circuit City. 

wowow, look at all the movies. Yes, Giorgio was a movie that the How Did This Get Made? podcast covered, but I missed the episode and now it’s scrubbed off the internet. 

ooof, the King James was the ~scary motel~ by the time my memories start. Surprisingly, the Fox Den was still open as late as 1994!

…a gorilla gathering. 

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When I was in elementary school, my mom would buy me bundles of old Sports Illustrated magazines from the thrift store on the air force base. I’d always pour through the issues, looking at the old ads, and keeping my eye out on figure skating articles. 

Then, this one time in 5th grade, my mom bought me home this massive, nearly phonebook sized edition of SI.The 1984 Olympic preview. That was when I was first introduced to the “Who will win what” section fo every preview issue. The expert opinions on who will win what medals at the Olympics. I love looking back on them, even way back then to see what they got wrong. 

I know some are wondering where the Sports Illustrated issue for 1980 is. In the United States, we seriously don’t know much about that Olympics since the U.S. boycotted the Summer Olympics, with them being in the Soviet Union and whatnots.  I don’t even think it was on TV here. In fact, there wasn’t even a preview issue. 

1984: 

S.I. got the team prediction 100%. 

While we, in America associate Mary Lou Retton with the star of the 1984 games due to her winning the all around, I feel like really, it was Ecaterina Szabo, she won gold medals on the balance beam, floor, and vault. 

BothJulianne McNamara andMa Yanhong tied for gold at the uneven bars.  I was surprised to see Pam Bileck predicted to win a bronze on the balance beam. She didn’t even make the event finals. 

For the rhythmic gymnastics, Lori Fung of Canada won the first gold medal of the sport. 

The men’s results were all over the place. The United States surprisingly won gold in the team competition. Vault, floor exercise, and rings were the only correct gold medal predictions. 

S.I. was asleep on Koji Gushiken, who won the all around, rings, and a silver medal on vault. 

1988:

The Soviets were back in 1998, and the United States didn’t fare well at all. The only medalist was a bronze medal for Phoebe Mills on the balance beam. Hey, S.I. got that prediction right. 

There is absolutely nomention of Svetlana Boginskaya from the Soviet Union, who walked away from the games with gold medals in the team and vault, silver medal on the floor, and a bronze in the all around.  

Like with Svetlana, no mention of her teammate on the men’s team, Vladimir Artemov who won gold medals in the team, all around, and horizontal bar, and a silver on the floor exercise. 

1992: 

S.I. absolutely slept on Shannon Miller in 1992. They, like everyone else was focused on Kim Zmeskal who fell on the first night of competition, in her first event. Shannon went on to win a silver in the all around, a bronze in team competition, and three medals in individual events. 

I guess due to her breakthrough in 1998, S.I. believed that Svetlana Boginskaya could win all around that year. She placed a respectable fifth, but did not win any individual medals that year. 

For the men, VItaly Sherbo won five gold medals in Barcelona. The magazine got his all around prediction correct. 

Oh! I almost forgot about Trent Dimas blew everybody away and won the gold on the horizontal bar.

1996:

Wow, it was as though S.I. had no hope for the United States ladies, predicting a bronze medal in the team event. Of course, we all know who won that. 

I was surprised that they thought that Svetlana Khorkina would win the all around. I thought she was just a master of bars at this point in her career. She placed 15th in the all around. 

While they were correct about Khorkina’s uneven bars win, they didn’t even think that silver medalist Amy Chow was in the running. 

Or, Dominique Dawes winning bronze in the floor exercise. Or, Shannon Miller winning gold on the balance beam.

For the men, Ukraine won the bronze medal. On the subject of bronze medals, Vitaly Sherbo won four of them this time around after a tumultuous time after the 1992 Olympics (left Belarus for the United States, then his wife was in a car accident).

Jair Lynch of the United States won a silver medal on the parallel bars. ‘Yall know he has his own real estate development firm? 

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