11/10/14

Mixtape Monday: "H"

Testing out a new (obviously made in-house here at The Hideaway) logo this week - whaddaya think?
Mixtape "H" sees the return of the themed songs on side A. The last theme was on the "D" tape where HERC went with songs that had the word "dream" in their title.  For "H", he features songs that have "heart" in their titles, even pulling out a couple of deep album cuts to go along with the more obvious singles.  By his and MRS. HERC's best figuring this tape was made shortly before Christmas 1984.  
For HERC, the biggest flashback moment was Xavion's "Eat Your Heart Out" - he hasn't heard that one in years.  HERC saw their music video on Friday Night Videos or Night Tracks; the future Mrs. HERC's family did not yet have their MTV in 1984.  He bought the group's Burnin' Hot album, the 12" single of the lead single "Eat Your Heart Out" and later saw them open for Hall & Oates.  Then they disappeared and HERC never saw a second album or a CD issue of their first album, though to his surprise, that album is on both Spotify and Tidal streaming services.
HERC loved them then but they sound very dated now with those electronic drums.  The band predated both Living Colour and Mazarati, though the former rocked harder and the latter seemed a little funkier.  In doing research for this post, HERC learned that Xavion's lead singer, Dexter Haygood, had fallen on hard times shortly after the band broke up, with substance abuse and other issues leaving him homeless, living out of his car.   Dexter was on The X-Factor television show in 2011, which is where many of his former bandmates saw him for the first time in years.  There were even rumors of a band reunion though HERC could find no confirmation such an event ever occured.
Three songs stand out as favorites on this tape for HERC and the Missus:
"Time (Clock Of The Heart)" - Culture Club
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - Elton John and Kiki Dee
"Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy)" - Roger Hodgson

SIDE A45:56
1983Affair Of The HeartRick Springfield04:33
1981HeartbeatRiggs03:51
1983Time (Clock Of The Heart)Culture Club03:44
1983Total Eclipse Of The Heart [edit]Bonnie Tyler04:30
1983Straight From The HeartBryan Adams03:32
1980Gotta Broken Heart AgainPrince02:16
1976Don't Go Breaking My HeartElton John and Kiki Dee04:34
1982Change Of HeartHuey Lewis & the News03:45
1978Listen To Her HeartTom Petty and the Heartbreakers03:05
1984Eat Your Heart OutXavion03:34
1982Heart To HeartAldo Nova03:43
1982All Of My Heart [edit]ABC04:49
SIDE B46:35
1984Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy)Roger Hodgson08:26
1984BodyThe Jacksons05:07
1984FootlooseKenny Loggins03:47
1982Life Is A CelebrationThe Kids from "FAME"03:06
1981Stand And DeliverAdam & the Ants03:36
1983Whammy KissThe B-52's05:22
1974Black WaterThe Doobie Brothers04:15
1983The ReflexDuran Duran04:27
1981Woman In BlackForeigner04:46
1983Catch My FallBilly Idol03:43


7 comments:

  1. Inexplicably missing from side A: "Heartbeat" by Don Johnson, "It's a Heartache" by Bonnie Tyler, "Another Nail in My Heart" by Squeeze, "Tuesday Heartbreak" by Stevie Wonder, "Skidmarks on My Heart" by Go-Go's, "Heart Attack" by ONJ, and of course, "Deep in the Heart of Texas" by Dave Edmunds. What? Those not romantic enough for ya? ;-)

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    1. Seeing as how Don Johnson's wonderfully dated "Heartbeat" wouldn't be released until 1986 and this tape was probably made in December 1984, you'll understand the omission. The song will make a later appearance on a mixtape or my name is not Ricardo "Rico" Gonzalo Pedro Montalban Tubbs, Jr.

      As for the rest of the songs you listed, they were certainly in the running but ultimately didn't make the cut along the thousands of other songs with "heart" in their title. That and the fact that I only had four of them in my collection at the time.

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  2. Xavion's "Eat Your Heart Out"? Sh-mokin' song, my man!! Never heard it before...

    I see on iTunes that Canada's Unidisc owns the masters... Cryin' shame that a company with as vast a catalog as theirs has no use for physical product anymore.

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  3. The emergence of the Unidisc's holdings on Spotify over the past year and a half (that I've noticed) has been both a joy and wonder to behold, especially the Solar, Mirage and De-Lite catalogs. More power to them, get it all out there.

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    1. Hey, I'm all for as much music being available to the masses as possible, but the thing is Herc, I have major issues with peoples' options being eliminated...

      I still love buying and listening to actual CD's, and I don't ever have to worry about a particular album being banished from my collection due to label politics or the whim of the artist (a la Taylor Swift & Spotify). No offense to you (because I know you love it), but streaming music is not only contributing to the further erosion of what marginal CD sales there are, but it's whittling away at digital music sales, as well. There is absolutely no reason for anyone who can stream music endlessly for free, to ever PURCHASE music again. That's just a fact... And the reality of that aggravates me to no end.

      It's simple arithmetic: When people have less incentive than ever to buy music, existing stores reduce their stock. When those stores can't make ends meet, they close up shop. When businesses close their doors, everyone loses. It's a vicious cycle. The biggest offenders is all of this, of course, are the record labels themselves (not specifically Unidisc, but the majors). They (who've been pulling the strings for years) are only ever interested in turning a profit, thereby turning away as much as possible now from physical product, and towards digital-only, streaming, and other low-risk avenues of distribution. I'm not a fan, needless to say... And I think my time on the soap box today bears that out! :)

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    2. We'll have to agree to disagree on several points you made though you might find some solace in knowing you are not alone in HERC's circle of friends in your beliefs.

      Like you do, HERC believes in music, knows it has always had value and that is why he pays for it. He posts Spotify playlists knowing that even if one person clicks and listens, revenue is generated for the rights holder, whether or not the listener is a paid Spotify subscriber or not.

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    3. Thanks for hearing me out, my brutha'!

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