Hey! Remember the 80's?

Episode 157: There are a lot of May birthdays for some of our favorite 80's acts. Steve Stevens became famous for his work with Billy Idol, but he did a lot of great work on his own, including a theme for one of the biggest movies of the decade. Members of the Housemartins and China Crisis are also blowing out some candles this month. Get out your party hats and (Art of) Noisemakers!

Just a Bit Outside: Joe and Kari celebrate some huge songs from the 1980's that didn't hit the top 40: songs you may remember from Budweiser commercials or your cousin Tina's wedding reception. It's electric!

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Episode 156 is here! Time to head back to 1980 to take a look at the headlines, charts, and paid advertisements in Billboard magazine, dated April 26, 1980. Arista Records sprung for an ad on the cover touting the "sensational hit single" "Fire in the Morning" by Melissa Manchester. Money well spent? Al Johnson, Ian Hunter, and Ozark Mountain Daredevils are a few of the other artists within the pages, plus an editorial from a light salesman that tries to convince the American public that disco is NOT dead. 

Coming Around Again: British band B-Movie recorded their 1980 single "Nowhere Girl" more than once, but was it worth it? Listen to the newest episode of HRT80's to find out!

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Episode 155: Believe it or not, there are a lot of 80's songs that feature the violin (just now realizing that we forgot to include that Lambda Lambda Lambda song from the finale of Revenge of the Nerds, darn it!). Check out the new segment "Strings and Things" for a rundown of some great 80's tunes that feature both traditional violin sounds as well as that wacky "pizzicato" technique. 

HRT80s Court: It's a case within a case this week. The Fixx has a new single out that includes a bass line that sounds awfully familiar. Did they rip off a classic 90's song, or did THAT band get their inspiration from the "Eighties"? It's no Joke, check out Episode 155!

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Episode 154 is here! Remember that television program Hit Me Baby One More Time? Where fading pop stars performed their classic songs and contemporary covers, in an effort to restart their career? It's okay, Joe and Kari didn't really remember it either, but since so many great 80's acts took part, they decided to watch a few episodes of the UK version to see how everyone fared. Get ready for clips from Howard Jones, Tiffany, Limahl, Belinda CarLISLE, and others! The first episode of Hit Me Baby One More Time is up on YouTube if you'd like to get acquainted first, or just dive on in to Episode 154 of HRT80s!

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Episode 153 is here! Joe and Kari discuss more acts that placed a ton of singles on the R&B Chart. They left off near the beginning of the alphabet, but they take a quick detour to the letter S (for reasons that will be explained) to discuss Slave, a brassy band with 15 hits on the chart in the 80's. Georgio, Johnny Gill, Herbie Hancock, Nona Hendryx and Stacy Lattisaw also take a turn under the microscope. 

Number 153: According to Pitchfork.com, THIS song was number 153 on their list of the best 80's songs. We're all Steppin' Out on this episode of HRT80s!

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Episode 152: 80's Movie Soundtrack Mania! Did you know that the Against All Odds soundtrack has music NOT by Phil Collins on it?! It was news to Joe and Kari! Kid Creole and the Coconuts perform a delightful song and even appear in the movie! Other obscure movie tunes from The Heavenly Kid, The Lost Boys, Secret Admirer and (sigh) Hunk pop up as well. 

Just a Bit Outside: An offshoot of the Detroit Wheels and a Grammy-winning sound engineer are the two acts featured who *almost* hit the Top 40. 

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Episode 151: What exactly is Power Pop? There are a few guidelines, but really, you'll know it when you hear it. The Knack and Cheap Trick are a couple of the more popular Power Pop bands, but since this is HRT80's, Joe and Kari spotlight a few of the lesser-known acts: The Kings, XTC, and The Spongetones, among others. 

That's What Friends Are For: Culture Club backing vocalist, and (one-time) friend of Boy George, Helen Terry gets her moment to shine in the spotlight. Love Lies Lost was a Top 40 UK Hit, but what happened next? 

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Episode 150! Can you believe it?? Joe and Kari have decided to spend this momentous occasion (or maybe it was a coincidence) to take a deep dive into the careers of "artistes" Devo and Rickie Lee Jones. Kari chose to investigate the art-rockers Devo and how they got started. Joe is obsessed with Rickie Lee Jones. These two acts definitely march to the beat of their own drum. 

Coming Around Again: The ubiquitous 80's hit "Walking on Sunshine" was actually the second version of the song, who knew? Tune in to Episode 150 - and don't it feel good??!!

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Episode 149: Got a minute? Joe and Kari are bringing you more epic guitar solos that last around 60 seconds, including classics from artists you would expect (Santana, Guns 'N' Roses, Led Zeppelin), as well as some deeper hits from acts like Vandenberg, J. Blackfoot, and Bad Company.

Who's Holding Phil Now? It's the same old story from Mr. Collins -- he tells record execs "I'm not doing that!" and then of course, he ends up doing just that -- including a big hit from his foray into film acting Buster. 

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Episode 148: Hope you love the segment "Just a Bit Outside" as much as Joe and Kari do, because that's the sole focus of this episode -- but with a twist!! Since Joe complained so much about focusing on the deeper hits from the year 1980, Kari decided to zoom on up to 1989! So get ready for songs from 1989's brightest stars: Neneh Cherry, Dino...and Loverboy?!

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