trashfan.com

Freeez - I.O.U.

Video- *****
Song- *****

A Kindergarden Lesson In 80s Goofiness

How come I never saw this video growing up in the 80s??? Maybe it's just too obscure, too European and not quite commercial enough? But I love it. I wouldn't say it's trashy. Trashy is about being shocking or at least attention-grabbing. But other than the horrible fashion choices, there's nothing that's shocking, just entertaining. There's something about the confidence of this video which makes up for the goofiness. You gotta love the face that kid makes at the end of the vid... well, then again, you don't have to. And... is the guy singing (terribly, btw) the same one from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure???
The song is SO 80s it's like it fell out of a time capsule or something. Like fresh out of MTV's hot video oven. Except I don't think they showed it on MTV, maybe they thought it belonged on Sesame Street? Just like the video, the song has this confidence in what it is- it really delves in 80s-ness with no shame. Here is a remix by DJ Spyder, and another which is remixed with Madonna's "Get Into The Groove". By the way, the band actually has 3 E's in its name. Not like anyone cares.

Steve Winwood - Valerie

Video- *****
Song- *****

He's A Lame Boy Who Used A Flea

Steve Winwood kicks ass. He's just cool. He has songs like this, The Finer Things, Higher Love (with Chaka Khan), Back In The High Life Again, Roll With It and Wake Me Up On Judgement Day. They're really great songs. They're very 80s sounding but they all have his unique, almost Carribean-Reggae sound that is nicely mixed with a sophisticated English approach to music whose tradition goes back to the Beatles. It's a great voice he has, and there's this strange electronic horn-like instrument (the solo in the bridge) he uses in a lot of his songs which is really soothing, unique and slick. Of course, you may have heard the song sampled in the somewhat recent Eric Prydz song, "Call On Me", which I like and if you haven't seen the video... WATCH IT- it's SO trashy- love the part with the pink towel.
This video is nice, got some cool and unique graphics with the blurring of the images and the "painted" effect. The colors were very bright and fresh for the 80s, as the brown, grey and orange colors of the 70s were getting really drab in comparison. You can see there was a lot of effort put into the animation as all the frames had to be colored and matched to the music. Very creative.

Gap Band - The Party Train

Video- *****
Song- *****

Typo? It's Really The GaY Band?

Boy, they sure don't make 'em like they used to... and for good reason! There are so many homoerotic moments in this vid, and if you watch for them you'll see what I mean. Sure, there are are bits thrown in of girls in bikini's, but that's just to throw you off the scent... of lavender scented hair products. George Michael and Michael Jackson did things like that all the time. Pfff- yeah, I mean you know they dress like that cause they're really just a black version of The Village People. There is this one part in particular where these muscleheads appear to be gawking and pointing at some skanky ho's, and yet it is revealed in the last shot of that part that it was actually a group of guys... wearing leather biker caps, no less. Yes, I definitely figured that the first review on trashfan.com in the new year should definitely be a trashy one.
The song, I must admit, is a great song. I just love the progression, that melody/beat that goes "da da da DA" and even by the end you feel like you don't want it to stop. Typical of soul, this is often the case. I love their other songs "Yearning For Your Love" and "Outstanding", I also believe they had another track called "Big Fun" which is also excellent. Stay tuned in the future for more videos for this, um, "special" band.

Dominatrix - Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight

Video- *****
Song- *****

Trashy ENOUGH???

D- d- d- d- d- dom- d- d- d- dom- dom- dom- Dominatrix Dominatrix. Dominatrix. Sorry, I just like how this vid starts off- it's pretty trippy, and VERY VERY 80s. Not to mention trashy. VERY VERY trashy. I also like the little tinkling melody from the synths, it's kinda cute. A strange thing for a video that's about S&M, but somehow it works.
I wonder if any of you have ever heard of this song, this band or this Dominatrix??? I sure haven't. I couldn't even find any info about the band. Maybe it's cause they're German? I don't know. I like that point where at the garage the sign says "Ball joints - End repairs" I can't help thinking that was put there on purpose. This chick looks like she's about to eat that mechanic alive with a knife and fork.
Wait- no way- that blond hair was just a wig??? LOL "Women beat their men... animals watch beyond the fire..." LOL let's just hope the animals keep their distance, otherwise it's a whole other genre of porn we're talking about. I really like the end where the melodies become disconnected- that's really cool- a GREAT ending to a fantastic vid.

The Mary Jane Girls - Candy Man

Video- *****
Song- *****

Oh So Slutalicious

This vid is just oh so slutalicious...

ENJOY.

*THIS VIDEO IS WAY DOWNLOADABLE!*
(Right) click on the far right button and select Save As.

Blondie - Rapture

Video- *****
Song- *****

Blondie's BACK

That's right, more than a year after the "Tide Is High" video by Blondie premiered here on trashfan.com, she's making a comeback with this one, called "Rapture". This could be one of THE best songs of all time. I was very happy to grow up with Blondie's music in my house and the car. I have very fond memories of it all. It was also a great introduction to all the different kinds of music that I listen to nowadays, since the band's music somehow tapped into a kind of universal sound that seems to transcend the musical genres.
Video is very interesting and cool. Very funky with the guy in the white suit and top hat dancing around in that freaky-deaky way- apparently he's like some hip-hop producer? I don't know. I think I read it on wikipedia.org.

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Dear Prudence

Video- *****
Song- *****

She's A Superfreak! Superfreak! She's Superfreakin'... Yow!

Great song, right? Ok, so it's not your usual Samantha Fox, Whitney Houston, regular plain old bubble gum-flavored-ice-cream 80s POP, it's much more in a Gothic style, which was like a part of the movements going on in the late seventies and early 80s called New Wave, New Romantic & Neotragic Existence. It's all about showing how the happy, pop culture is only one side to the story and how there are other ways of thinking out there, just below the surface. This is a very short excerpt from wikipedia.org:
"Defining an ideology of the gothic subculture is difficult for several reasons. First is the overwhelming importance of mood for those involved. This is, in part, inspired by romanticism and neoromanticism. The allure for goths of dark, mysterious, and morbid imagery and mood lies in the same tradition." [from the section Gothic ideology]
As you can see, the style is very deep and its origins go back thousands of years, and I could go on and on about it. Or I could just redirect you to this other freak.

Janet Jackson - Nasty

Video- *****
Song- *****

It Sells Itself... Or Maybe... SHE Sells HERSELF???

Janet Jackson is one of the best artists of the past 20 years, and she's been highly successful for nearly all 20 of those years. Apparently, her first two albums were disappointing in sales, but she was so determined that she persisted in making a third, Control, which became a huge international hit. It also marked a personality upgrade in her to becoming somebody who was strong and independent from her overpowering family.
This song is great. Sure it's trashy, but it's got everything a good song has and more. It's got a clean, slick sound to it and PLENTY of groove. The song is proof that things can be trashy AND good.
As always in a Janet Jackson video, the choreography is energetic and stylish. The video has a great progression to it, always keeping your eyes entertained. Then there's the girls singing in a kind of snobby way in the audience (one is Paula Abdul, who choreographed the vid) which is a funny little interlude. The part near the end with the guys in trenchcoats is hilarious. This is a real treat of a video, always fun to watch anywhere, like at church, or in libraries or retirement homes.

Rick James - Superfreak

Video- ****** (6 out of 5)
Song- ****.5

Superfreak-o-rama!

This has got to be one of the funniest videos ever. Just look at the whore hanging off the street lamp. Then there's the slut on the bench. Another trollop on the bench- and a total skank on the left. Not to mention the slut with the mustache. I've got three screengrabs and I honestly can't choose only two. This is one of the hardest decisions I will ever ever make in my entire life. Ah, what the freak- I'll just post all three.
Of course this song was sampled by MC Hammer in "Can't Touch This"- but ugh, not like it matters. James's is a good song, I feel it's missing something, but I can't put my finger on it, so maybe I'm wrong. I guess I just feel it could be a bit more exciting. It's very good, it just needs a little more to be 5 stars, for me. It's not as good as his song, "Mary Jane".
If you haven't seen this video, you should write to MTV or VH1 and complain. I would give it 6 stars out of 5- it's a classic piece of absolute filth, and for that it deserves to be in the Trashfan Award Category. Even though the song doesn't have 5 stars, I'm willing to bend the rules for this "special" video.

Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love

Video- *****
Song- *****

Those Animatronic Mannequins Sure Can Play!

I'm just guessing, but I don't think the models are the actual, real band playing this song. It's just a hunch I have, call it a kind of magical intuition. This is one of those quintessential 80's songs and the video is just as amazing. Robert Palmer's voice is just gritty enough and has got a lot of power, and the rock sound coming from the distorted guitars is extremely powerful and dynamic. Seeing this on MTV back in the day was one of the reasons we loved MTV so much back then. It's really lost its edge somewhere along the way. When you saw this video it made you glad to be alive and a part of the 80's American-European scene.
Apart from the models' wages, there wasn't anything terribly expensive in the video, no special effects or cliches which seem to be used too often these days, or even occasionally back in those days, by a certain freak (which shall remain known as M. J. and made feature-length videos like the over-the-top Thriller). It was just a very simple idea and it's both ingenious and hilarious at the same time, not to mention ultra sexy and very classy. The idea was so good it was probably stolen by Alexander O'Neal, whose video is pretty similar in concept. See, back in my day we didn't have fast-paced special effects and expensive computer generated sets- by golly we had to make do with the European models and painted backdrops that we had and by golly that was good enough!
One more thing- who's playing the horns?