Episodes

Duran Duran are one of the biggest and best bands of the 80's, and we thought they would be perfect subjects for continuing our second anniversary celebration. We invited our friend Russ to help and add insight, as we delved …

Can you believe it's our second anniversary episode? And our fiftieth? We're celebrating both, and we have a very special guest who makes an appearance. We're discussing our namesake movie, TapeHeads, a fairly obscure 1988 cu...

Suzanne Vega is someone you should know about, if you aren't aware of her already. We explore her musical connections and collaborators, including the illustrious Mitchell Froom and inimitable Tchad Blake. We also discuss the...

https://audiophix.com/posts/10-terrible-number-one-songs-1980s-01j306841kwf

The Liverpool band A Flock of Seagulls had one of the biggest hit songs (and weirdest haircuts) of 1982, which puts them up against some serious competition. Quite an interesting band and story. This one was by request. Also ...

One of our favorite subjects here on TapeHeads is bands at a point of major change in their sound or careers, and ZZ Top's 1983 album Eliminator (which sold 11 million copies) is a perfect example. Footlose is a 1984 …

Howard Jones is someone who you may not think you know, but you definitely know his songs. In this episode, we take a deep dive into his music, and you may be surprised at the number of coincidental connections and …

Dolly Parton is one of the most important singer-songwriters of all time. She created an unforgettable persona that has, quite literally, changed the world. We've had a blast learning more about her. 9 to 5 is a 1980 movie th...

A veteran of the jazz, funk, and even disco scenes, Herbie Hancock took a left turn in the 80's to help usher hip hop into the mainstream of pop music, and we're certainly glad that he did. This episode focuses …

The Outfield are a band we love, and our old band used to play one of their songs back in the day. We discuss their distinction and the fun of listening to them these days. The Dark Crystal is a …

Tracey Ullman is very famous for her various TV shows and movie appearances, but before all of that, she had a Top10 hit in the U.S. and U.K. with the excellent song, "They Don't Know." We look into it and …

David Lee Roth is a human male singer that some people find compelling, including the two of us. His 1986 album "Eat 'Em and Smile" is a favorite of both of ours, and we dive into it with great enthusiasm. …

Michael Penn is one of our collective favorites. The musician, that is, not the YouTube mathematician. You may not think you know him, but you certainly know his family; brothers Sean and Chris, TV director father Leo, actor ...

Naked Eyes' 1983 hit "Always Something There To Remind Me" is good but not among our favorites--we'll get into it--but it did open both of us up to a much larger story. We think you'll agree. The Coen Brothers' quirky …

This is one of the biggest songs of all time, as well as the best and most distinctive videos. We do a deep dive into both. Our movie this time is the unique "My Dinner With Andre", starring Wallace Shawn …

The Church are an Australian band, probably most well known for thier 1988 hit "Under the Milky Way," a beautiful song that is the subject of this episode. Three O'Clock High is a 1987 movie about a mild-mannered high school …

In our favorite musical year of 1984, after many years of creating a multitude of hits separately, two musical giants came together at the top of their game to collaborate on one of the best songs of the 80's, "Easy …

This episode is a bit different than our others so far. We'd actually been talking about doing a World Party episode recently, when Karl Wallinger suddenly died a week or so before this, which added some gravitas and urgency,...

Dexys Midnight Runners are a one-hit wonder band (actually with TWO number-one hits) whose 1982 song "Come On, Eileen" is one of the most catchy and unusual songs of the 80's, and the band's story is one of the most …

In the spring of 1988, George Harrison recreuited his friends Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Jim Keltner to collaborate on a song. The result was so stunningly good that they decided to do an entire album …

This episode is devoted to Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist Jane Child. She's our first one-hit wonder, and she's possibly the last big one-hit wonder of the 80's. This episode is being released on February 15, which...

In this 'very special' episode, Blaine kept the subject a secret from Todd until we recorded it. New Edition and all of the tentacles of their related bands (Bobby Brown, New Kids on the Block, and even Whitney Houston) is …

The Bangles were arguably the biggest all-female band of the 80's, and we both totally love them. We explore their early career and their big hits, as well as the issues that arose within the band as one of the …

U2's album "The Joshua Tree" is one of the biggest and most influential of all time, and it's the subject of this, our first episode of 2024. We mostly focus in on the song "Where The Streets Have No Name," …