"Lock the doors and close the blinds -- we're going for a ride..."

First, a few announcements:

greeneggsandham is filling in for callmeroger's "The 90's Song of the Day" feature while he escapes certain peril and doom expected to fall upon the Texas Coast sometime tonight or tomorrow. Our thoughts are with all of our friends and family who are in affected areas in the Gulf States at this time...

Also -- since I shamelessly like to give plugs, keep in mind that IT IS FRIDAY! And the only thing you should be doing tonight at 9pm Central / 10pm Eastern is tuning into the world-known wtf radio show! Make sure that, in preparation for it, you answer the "Questions of the Week" posted at that very blog.

If you haven't listened to the show, it's very funny. And informative. And interactive. And funny.

Now -- for the main feature...

myclette's The 80's Song of the Day:

I will defer the introduction of this song to my good friend Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale in the 2000 movie "American Psycho." He has a lot to say about 80s music...

Do you like Huey Lewis and the news?

Their early work was a little too new wave for my tastes, but when Sports came out in '83,I think they really came into their own, commercial and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consimante professionalism that really gives the
songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far much more bitter, cynical sense of humour...

In '87, Huey released this, Fore, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip to be Square," a song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself.

And then -- Christian Bale's character chops up the dude he's talking to with an axe. How refreshing...

Huey Lewis and the News - "Hip to Be Square" (1986)
(yes, I know that it says '87 above. The album was released in 1986)



I used to be a renegade, I used to fool around
But I couldn't take the punishment, and had to settle down
Now I'm playing it real straight, and yes I cut my hair
You might think I'm crazy, but I don't even care
Because I can tell what's going on
It's hip to be square

I like my bands in business suits, I watch them on TV
I'm working out most everyday and watching what I eat
They tell me that it's good for me, but I don't even car
I know that it's crazy
I know that it's nowhere
But there is no denying that
It's hip to be square

It's not too hard to figure out, you see it everyday
And those that were the farthest out have gone the other way
You see them on the freeway, It don't look like a lot of fun
But don't you try to fight it; "An idea who's time has come."

Don't tell me that I'm crazy
Don't tell me I'm nowhere
Take it from me
It's hip to be square

Listen to a smidge of "Hip to Be Square"