Oran "Juice" Jones - "The Rain"

Here in my area, the last few days have been very rainy. The rain has inspired me to write an entry about the 1986 song "The Rain" by Oran "Juice” Jones.

When I listen to music, the aspect of a song that I focus on the most is the sound of the music itself. The song’s lyrical content is secondary to me. I would say it's always been that way. That's probably why, as a child in the 80s, I was drawn to (and greatly enjoyed) the futuristic "electronic" sounds of synthpop music. And then later, in the mid 1990s, I forayed into Rave scene, being attracted to the lyric-less sounds of the electronic music of that subculture.

I think what it all boils down to, regarding the fact that I focus more on the sound of music than on lyrics, is that I have a very good sense of hearing. I even sometimes jokingly tell people that I have “supersonic hearing.” Seriously though, I feel that my sense of hearing is the best of my five senses. And therefore, that’s something that enables to really enjoy the sounds of a song whenever I'm listening to music.

But anyway, needless to say, what I love about this particular song is the way it sounds. And, I’ve always wondered if there’s an instrumental version to this song, as I think it would sound awesome with just the music and no lyrics. The lyrics deal with a man who discovers that his girlfriend is cheating on him with another man. After the halfway point of the song, the singer switches from singing to just spoken words. I’ve always thought that the delivery of the words in that part of the song -- where the man confronts his girlfriend about her cheating -- is pretty silly. It's the only part of the song that I actually dislike. But otherwise, I love the song.

On a side note, the singer, Oran "Juice" Jones, looks like a cross between Eddie Murphy and the actor named Eric Lasalle. :)

Here's the song's video.

Helen Reddy: From “I Am Woman” to “Imagination”

As a singer, Helen Reddy was quite famous during the 1970s. Her popular song “I Am Woman” was undoubtedly not only one of her biggest hits, but was also considered an anthem of the so-called “feminist movement.”

In the 80s, however, Reddy’s music took a different direction from the Easy Listening tunes she was known for in the 70s. The year 1983 saw the release of Reddy’s album titled “Imagination,” which went on to be the last album she recorded that contained original songs. Among the tracks was “Imagination,” which bears the same title as the album. The song has a strong synthpop-ish sound, very typical of songs from the early-to-mid 80s. The midsection of the song features an instrumental part, which works well with the accompanying video to the song:

I have childhood memories of watching this video on tv after school.

There is also an extended version to the song.

Matia Bazar - "Aristocratica"

Matia Bazar is the name of an Italian synthpop/New Wave band that was founded in 1975. The band was originally fronted by a female singer named Antonella Ruggiero (who remained with the band until 1989). One of the band's most popular hits was a song titled “Aristocratica.”

The song dates from 1984, but I personally first learned of the song in 1987 while watching a tv special on European fashion & culture which aired on the HBO network. A short clip of a video to the song was played during part of the tv special.

Unfortunately, the video clip that I originally saw is not available on Youtube (or anywhere else that I've looked). What I remember from that video clip is that Antonella wore outlandish eye makeup and had her hair teased out -- a look similar to the female image on the cover of the band’s “Aristocratica” album:

The geometric green dress on the album's cover was designed by Italian fashion designer Cinzia Ruggeri, and it is known as the “Homage to Lévi Strauss dress”.

The following video features footage of the band performing “Aristocratica” live, interspersed with pictures of the band.

Polanski's inner Hitchcock meets Grace Jones

Polanski during the filming of Frantic

Roman Polanski's films span the gamut of genres: lush epics, engrossing dramas, suspenseful thrillers, clever comedies, and even horror. Despite that, in the decade of the 80s, Polanski directed only two films (or three, if you include his 1979 film Tess, which was released in the United States in 1980 and was nominated for Best Picture at the 1981 Academy Awards). In 1988, Polanski seemed to have channeled his inner Hitchcock by making the suspense movie Frantic.

Set in Paris, the movie deals with a doctor (played by Harrison Ford) who goes on a search for his wife after she mysteriously goes missing from their hotel room. In his quest, the doctor crosses paths with a beautiful young female smuggler (played by Emmanuelle Seigner, Polanski’s wife in real life) whom he was inadvertently led to due to a suitcase mix-up. Eventually, she agrees to help him find his wife. Along the way, he discovers that the reason his wife was kidnapped was that a group of Middle Eastern gangsters were looking for a nuclear detonating device that was hidden in the suitcase that his wife mistook for her own.

Unlike the director of this film, Harrison had a well-rounded filmography during the 80s, what with his turns as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, as well as the other films he was in.

One notable detail about this film is that Grace Jones' hit song “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)” can be heard playing in the background in a couple of different scenes. Here's a clip of one of those scenes, featuring Ford and Seigner dancing to the song.

Grace Jones - “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)”

In contemporary times, fashion and music have seemed to go hand in hand rather often. Fashion has been influenced by musical styles, and musicians have drawn inspiration from fashion trends. At times, there have even been individuals who found success in both the fashion industry and the music industry, thereby fusing together the worlds of fashion and music. That’s the case with the iconic Grace Jones.

Grace was originally a model. She modeled throughout the 1970s, as well as part of the 80s, working mainly in Paris with top designers such as Azzedine Alaia (to whom she was a muse). She was also a muse to Andy Warhol.

In the late 70s, she landed a record deal with Island Records, and she proceeded to record three albums between 1977 and 1979. In the early 80s, however, Grace entered into a collaboration with stylist Jean-Paul Goude which led to a transformation in her look to a more androgynous style. Coinciding with the burgeoning New Wave style of music, Grace’s own music morphed as well. She released two albums in the early 80s, one of them being 1981’s Nightclubbing.

The album contains reworked versions of previously-recorded songs, the most notable of which is “I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango).” The song went on to become one of Grace’s biggest hits. Also, the song was featured prominently in the 1988 film Frantic directed by Roman Polanski.

Incidentally, the video to the song was directed Jean-Paul Goude, with whom Grace was romantically involved for a time.

There is also an alternate video to the song.

Jean-Paul Gaultier - "How To Do That"

A few days ago, Madonna launched her latest world tour (the "MDNA Tour"), in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tour's costumes were designed by a handful of fashion designers, including the legendary French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. Gaultier is probably best known for having designed the costumes for Madonna's infamous 1990 world tour, the "Blond Ambition Tour." This time around, he designed a conical bra corset for Madonna similar to the ones she wore in the Blond Ambition Tour. Her current Gaultier-designed corset features cutouts that make it resemble a cage, and it's made of patent leather on the outside and metallic leather on the inside to give it a 3D effect.

As a fashion designer, Gaultier is sometimes referred to as the "enfant terrible" of the fashion world, mainly due to his provocative and controversial avant-garde designs. One thing many people may not know about Gaultier is that he recorded a dance music single in 1988 titled "How To Do That".

The whimsical video to the song features 80s models Claudia Huidobro, Naomi Campbell, Cameron Alborzian, and John Francis among others, all wearing Gaultier fashions.